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The Gospel of John, The Period of Conflict - The Clash of Belief and Unbelief, The discourse on the Good Shepherd, Part XXXV, John 10:19-30 - Lesson 82
Read Verses John 10:16-18, 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 (should be translated flock), 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.
John 10:19,20, There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
This is not a surprising result.
Jesus Christ is here realizing his mission.
He is a warrior of God for truth and righteousness.
Remember Mat 10:34, where our Savior said: Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Did not Simeon at the first in Luke 2:34, prophesy this: And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
And Isa 8:14, And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And Peter in 1 Pet 2:8, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
Many of them were appointed and they were here on that day to oppose Jesus Christ and to say:
He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
John 10:21, Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
So some defamed him and some defended him.
Many said he hath a devil but there were others, perhaps a remnant, who had a ray of light and recognized that Jesus did not speak or act like a demon.
Notice what they focused on.
His words and then his works.
They had seen the ravings of demoniacs.
Jesus had nothing in common with demons.
His teaching itself refuted the charge of madness.
Reasonable men will come to the right conclusions when faced with proper evidence.
It is not by the power of a demon that an act of mercy, such as restoring the sight of a blind man, is performed.
The words of sanity and grace that he spoke were not compatible with the charge of demon possession.
But the heart is deceitful and if left to itself will shut out reason and fully convince wrong to be that which is right.
(We start here an account later in the year at Jerusalem)
John 10:22-30, And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. 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 man 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.
The 22nd verse clearly begins a new section of this chapter, but it is placed here by John the Apostle because it is closely related to that which has gone on before.
We find Jesus Christ talking to the Jews, and it is clear that he is still in the role of Shepherd.
Again we find him attending a festival of Israel; this time the feast of the dedication, a winter festival.
FESTIVALS OR FEASTS- Regular religious celebrations remembering God's great acts of salvation in the history of His people.
Traditionally called "feasts" in the English Bibles, these can conveniently be categorized according to frequency of celebration.
Many of them were timed according to cycles of seven.
The cycle of the week with its climax on the seventh day, provided the cyclical basis for much of Israel's worship.
As the seventh day was observed, so was the seventh month (which contained four of the national festivals), and the seventh year, and the fiftieth year (the year of Jubilee), which followed seven cycles each of seven years.
Not only were the festivals as a whole arranged with reference to the cycle of the week (Sabbath), two of them (the feast of unleavened bread and the feast of tabernacles) lasted for seven days each.
Each began on the fifteenth of the month‑‑at the end of two cycles of weeks and when the moon was full.
Pentecost also was celebrated on the fifteenth of the month and began fifty days after the presentation of the firstfruits‑‑the day following seven times seven weeks.
The Sabbath - every seventh day. Our Friday evening thru Saturday afternoon. 24 hours beginning night and ending day
The New Moon festival - a monthly celebration characterized by special offerings.
Passover - also called the feast of unleavened bread.
Feast of Weeks - The second of the three annual festivals was Pentecost, also called the feast of weeks.
The Day of Atonement - The third annual festival came on the tenth day of the seventh month and the fifth day before the feast of tabernacles.
Feast of Tabernacles - The fourth annual festival was the feast of tabernacles, also called the feast of ingathering, the feast to the Lord.
Feast of Trumpets - Modern Rosh Hashanah is traced back to the so‑called "Feast of Trumpets," the sounding of the trumpets on the first day of the seventh month (Tishri) of the religious calendar year (Lev. 23:24; Num. 29:1).
The trumpet referred to here was the shofar, a ram's horn.
Two feasts of postexilic (post exile) origin are noted in Scripture‑‑Purim and Hanukkah.
Purim - commemorating the deliverance of the Jews from genocide through the efforts of Esther derives its name from the "lot" (pur) which Haman planned to cast in order to decide when he should carry into effect the decree issued by the king for the extermination of the Jews.
Hanukkah - This is the feast referred to in John 10:22, where it is called the feast of dedication. A festival which began on the twenty‑fifth day of Kislev (Dec.) and lasted eight days.
Josephus referred to it as the Feast of Lights because a candle was lighted each successive day until a total of eight was reached.
The festival commemorates the victories of Judas Maccabeus in 167 B.C.
At that time, when Temple worship was reinstituted, after an interruption of three years, a celebration of eight days took place.
The temple had been polluted by the idolatries of Antiochus Epiphanes.
Since John 10:22 notes that this feast took place in winter in cannot be for the dedication of Solomon's temple which took place in harvest time, nor could it be the dedication of Nehemiah's temple which took place in the spring.
Two festivals occurred less often than once a year; the sabbath year and the year of jubilee.
Sabbatic year - Each seventh year Israel celebrated a Sabbath year for its fields. This involved a rest for the land from all cultivation .
Jewish tradition interpreted 2 Chronicles 36:21 to mean that the seventy years' captivity was intended to make up for not observing sabbatic years. After the captivity this sabbatic year was carefully observed.
Year of Jubilee - This was also called the year of liberty (Ezek. 46:17). Its relation to the sabbatic year and the general directions for its observance are found in Leviticus 25:8‑16,23‑55. Its bearing on lands dedicated to the Lord is given in Leviticus 27:16‑25.
After the span of seven sabbaths of years, or seven times seven years (49 years), the trumpet was to sound throughout the land; and the year of jubilee was to be announced (Lev. 25:8‑9). Although Scripture does not record any instance of the public celebration of this year, Hebrew tradition refers to it. |