I and the Father Are One

We continue in John 10 this morning and we pick up in verse 22….John 10, verse 22. Follow with me as I read.

22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? 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 bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will 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 the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” 31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, 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 Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. 40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.

______________As we close out John chapter 10 this morning, we come to Jesus’ final public disclosure of himself to his people in the book of John.1

Verse 22 tells us that it is the time of the Feast of Dedication. Now we’ve seen these feast or festival markers several times as we’ve walked through the book of John. Let me summarize them on a slide.

1 Burge, G. M. (2000). John (p. 294). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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(And yes the Sabbath is listed as a festival in Leviticus 23). As we’ve walked through chapters 5 through 10, what some people call John’s ‘festival cycle’2 in his book, we’ve made the point that each feast mentioned by John provides a backdrop for what Jesus says and does in the particular section of scripture in question. And we’ve also made the point that all the Jewish feasts find their fulfillment in Jesus. (Perhaps you’ve known people who were convinced that there was extra merit in celebrating the Jewish feasts as Christian believers. No need to go there. Jesus fulfills the Jewish feasts. Go to Jesus)

So what we’re saying is that the Passover feast provides a backdrop for John 6 and Jesus fulfills the Passover feast. The Feast of Booths celebrating the autumn harvest of tree and vine, and occurring in September or October, provides the backdrop for John chapters 7-10:21 and Jesus fulfills the Feast of Booths. So as we get to the second half of chapter 10 this morning, the Feast of Dedication—the feast that is generally called Hanukkah today—the Feast of Dedication provides the backdrop for the last 21 verses of chapter 10 and Jesus will again fulfill even the Feast of Dedication.

Now what’s interesting about the Feast of Dedication (or Hanukkah) is that it’s not listed in Leviticus 23 as a Feast or festival prescribed by God. And why is that you ask? Well it’s because it became a feast or festival long after the Old Testament was finished— in fact it became a feast in 164 BC.

The story behind Hanukkah3 begins in 175 BC when a king of Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes IV, invaded Judah. He killed many Jews and looted the temple. To show his contempt for Israel’s God he sacrificed a pig to Zeus in the temple.4 He forbade circumcision, observing the Sabbath and keeping kosher, and he commanded that only pigs be sacrificed in the Jewish Temple. He 2 Burge, page 1703 The story of Hanukkah is preserved in the books of the First and Second Maccabees, which describe in detail the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the lighting of the menorah. These books are not part of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible); they are considered Jewish apocryphal books. Multiple references to Hanukkah are also made in the Mishna (Bikkurim 1:6, Rosh HaShanah 1:3, Taanit 2:10, Megillah 3:4 and 3:6, Moed Katan 3:9, and Bava Kama 6:6), though specific laws are not described. The miracle of the one-day supply of oil miraculously lasting eight days is first described in the Talmud, committed to writing about 600 years after the events described in the books of Maccabees[ 4 referred to as “the abomination that causes desolation” in Dan 11:31; Matt 24:15

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himself cooked a pig in the Temple and poured its broth on the holy Torah scrolls and on the altar.

Well you can imagine that this was all that the Jews could stand. A Jewish priest by the name of Mattathias and his five sons led a revolt against Antiochus and by 165 BC the Jewish revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated. They rebuilt the altar (which had been used to sacrifice pigs) and declared an eight-day feast which falls in the Hebrew month of Kislev (our month of December). According to Jewish legend, they could only find one container of undefiled oil for the temple candlestick (menorah), enough for one day. But through a miracle of God the lights burned for the entire eight days, thus giving rise to a popular name for Hanukkah, the “Festival of Lights.” 5

So when we think of Hanukkah as the backdrop for this final public interaction in John between Jesus and the religious leaders let’s remember what Hanukkah stood for in a Jewish mind—it stood for national deliverance; it was the last great deliverance that the Jews in the first century had known AND it stood for a re-consecrated temple—when the Jews finally defeated Antiochus, they entered the temple and it was a mess—there was vegetation growing in the temple courts, the storerooms were in ruins; they had to purify the Holy place and make new sacred vessels.

So this time marker in verse 22—the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah, it’s probably December—this time marker in verse 22 tells us that two months have passed since Jesus’ last confrontation with the Jews at the Feast of Tabernacles, John chapters 7-10:21.6 And Jesus has returned to the temple area.

We learn two other facts in verses 22 and 23. First John tells us it’s winter time. Is this a reflection on the spiritual condition of the persons in the stories?7 Possibly but the problem with that idea is that in the book of John there is no recurring ‘hot/cold’ contrast throughout the book like there is a ‘light/darkness contrast’.8 John is probably just telling us that it’s cold. And that’s why Jesus is walking in the colonnade of Solomon (or Solomon’s porch) one of the large covered porches around the edges of the temple.9

5 Bryant, B. H., & Krause, M. S. (1998). John (Jn 10:22–23). Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co.6 Blum, E. A. (1985). John. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 311). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.7 cf. 3:2; 13:30; 18:3, 18; 20:1, 19; 21:3–4Borchert, G. L. (1996). John 1–11 (Vol. 25A, pp. 337–338). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Carson thinks there is no spiritual hints here because 8 Carson, page 3929 Bryant, B. H., & Krause, M. S. (1998). John (Jn 10:22–23). Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co.

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I’ve circled Solomon’s porch or Solomon’s colonnade on the slide. Let’s pause and smile for just a moment here because this was the location of choice for the early church in Acts 3 and Acts 5. You remember Peter preached a gospel message in Acts 2 and the sheep who heard the shepherd’s voice in that sermon began meeting in the very place that our story takes place today.

Well in verse 24 the Jews gathered around Jesus and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” “Don’t speak in figures of speech like you did at the first of the chapter”; tell us plainly. 10

The Jews suddenly “circle in on Jesus”. The picture could be an ominous one; the Greek word used here is used only one other place in the gospels, Luke 21:20, to describe how Rome would “surround” Jerusalem before its destruction.11 How long will you keep us in suspense? “Keep us in suspense” is literally “hold up our soul.” 12 It could be paraphrased this way too: “How long are you going to annoy us?”13 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 bear witness about me,

When Jesus says there in verse 25 “I told you and you do not believe” he wasn’t referring to an explicit statement that he made.14 Jesus never explicitly said he was the Messiah publicly. In the book of John, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that he was the Messiah (John 4:26) and the blind man (John 9:35-36). But this was in private. If we survey the other gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus did affirm he was the Messiah to his disciples (Matthew 16:33 ff). But again Jesus never let it be known in public. Why? (It is curious that “I am the Messiah” is not

10 plainly (παρρησία, parrēsia), which is somewhat the opposite of παροιμία (paroimia, “hidden saying”) in verse 6. Bryant, B. H., & Krause, M. S. (1998). John (Jn 10:24). Joplin, MO: College Press Pub. Co.11 Burge, G. M. (2000). John (p. 295). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.12 Blum, E. A. (1985). John. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 311). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.13 Carson, page 39214 Carson, page 392

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one of Jesus’ “I am” statements in the book of John.)15 And why is that? The term Messiah (or Christ) had too many political and military connotations in first century Palestine.16

So Jesus never made an explicit statement that he was the Messiah publicly. At the same time, all of his ministry, his words and works, pointed to the fact that he had essentially told them he was the Messiah.

If he told them through his words and works, why didn’t they hear him?

Verse 26 tells us why…they were not among his sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

You see it’s not just that his own sheep do hear his voice, that he knows them, and that they follow him (we saw and heard that last week didn’t we in the first part of the chapter?), it’s that those who are not his sheep do not hear his voice, he does not know them, and they do not follow him.17 And what’s the root problem? Look again at verse 25b. He told them but they wouldn’t believe. The root problem is unbelief.18

Their problem, Jesus said, was not a lack of information but a failure to believe and the failure to believe was due to the fact that they were not his sheep. 19 Look again at verse 26….you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. If they were of his sheep they would believe.

Let’s not miss the 3 things which characterize Jesus’s sheep in verse 27. Jesus’s sheep hear his voice. Jesus’s sheep are experientially known by the shepherd, and Jesus’s sheep follow the shepherd.

And then let’s not miss the 3 benefits enjoyed by Jesus’ sheep in verse 28: 1) Jesus gives them eternal life, 2) They shall never perish (and this second benefit is expressed emphatically and could be paraphrased, “they shall certainly not perish forever”),20 and 3) No one will snatch them out of Jesus’ hand.

Look at verse 28 again…28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

15 Bruner, page 63516 Carson, page 39217 Carson, page 39318 Burge, G. M. (2000). John (p. 295). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.19 Borchert, G. L. (1996). John 1–11 (Vol. 25A, pp. 338–339). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.20 Gardoski, The Case for Eternal Security from Five Key NT Passages

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Verse 28 is considered one of the strongest proof texts for the doctrine of eternal security or what’s called perseverance in reformed circles---the idea that every true believer will persevere to the end.

When it comes to the security of the believer, there are actually three positions. Let me quickly introduce them to you and then spend a few minutes elaborating on our conviction as a church body that true believers are eternally secure (or said differently, true believers will persevere to the end).

Here are the three positions on the security of the believer…

With position 1—and I don’t think anyone ever uses the phrase ‘eternal insecurity’ to describe what they believe here—the idea is that a believer is secure as long as all of his or her sins are confessed. Essentially with this position, every sin brings insecurity about one’s position before God.

With position 2, conditional security, a believer is secure as long as he doesn’t leave the faith. I Howard Marshall is a theologian that holds to this position. Marshall acknowledges that ‘no outside power can separate those who love God from him’…and verse 28 in our text says that doesn’t it?… No one will snatch them out of my hand…. but…. Marshall goes on to say even though no outside power can separate those who love God from him, we can separate ourselves from that love.” Are you following the nuance in the conditional security position here? No outside power can snatch the believer out of Jesus’ hand but a believer could choose to “jump out” of Jesus’ hand and leave the faith. So it’s not sin which brings insecurity with this position, it’s the so-called believer who chooses to walk away from the faith who is no longer secure. I personally believe that no true believer will ever walk away from the faith.

As a church we teach eternal security or the perseverance of the saints. What would we say to I Howard Marshall’s idea that a believer can separate himself from God’s love through

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apostasy? We’d say two things: 1) Doesn’t the second clause in verse 28 say “They shall never perish”? Isn’t that phrase without conditions? And 2) don’t the words ‘no one’ in the third clause of verse 28, no one will snatch them, don’t those words also include the person who is in Christ’s hand?21

Other verses that we believe teach eternal security are….

Verse 29 strengthens the picture of our security in Christ.

29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

Jesus isn’t alone as he preserves his sheep. It is the Father himself who ultimately stands behind the preservation of Jesus’ sheep.22

Carson says it this way … “If some think Jesus to be too frail or so lofty for such an assignment, they must surely recognize that it is the Father’s commitment no less. Who then can steal from God? Who has strength or subtlety sufficient to overpower or outwit the sovereign Father?”23 Listen again to verse My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all.

“If the Father is greater than all things or persons, there is no force or being sufficient to sever the relation between the true believer and Jesus Christ. In short as Paul would say to the Colossian believers, your life is now hidden with Christ in God”24

Let me put up Question 1 and the answer to it from the Heidelberg catechism (written in the year 1563)

21 Grudem argues this 22 Carson, page 39323 Carson, page 39324 Carson page 394

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Well if verses 28-29 affirm that both the Father and the Son are engaged in the perfect preservation of Jesus’ sheep, then it makes all the sense in the world, that Jesus could and would say what he says in verse 3025…

30 I and the Father are one.”

Now this is such a simple statement but what is Jesus saying? We get a hint when we learn that the word one in Greek is neuter so Jesus isn’t saying that he and the Father are ‘one person’ 26 And we affirm that truth don’t we? … the Father and Son are two different persons, right? So it seems that in his statement he is affirming a kind of unity of purpose and will. And in the context of verses 28 and 29, Jesus would then be saying “I and the Father are one great grip27…we work together to keep the sheep secure.” …The sheep are protected because we are one in our labor to protect the sheep.

But is Jesus saying more? Probably so… Think about John 1:1… In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. John 1:1 clearly teaches that Jesus is God. Do we import that here in John 10:30? Probably.

The church father Augustine commented on this verse famously:28

25 This idea from Carson, page 39426 Burge, page 29627 Bruner, page 63928 Bruner, page 644

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So Augustine saw “two persons and one nature” in Jesus’ words--that Jesus and the Father were two different persons with the same essence or nature. The theological math in that idea is 1 + 1 = 1.

Well what did the Jews hear in Jesus’ words? Look at verse 31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Would the Jews stone Jesus for saying that he had joined his efforts with God? Or that he and God were unified in their purposes? One writer responds…..“This is not a man who is saying he has joined his efforts with God; this is a man who is saying something dangerous, something more, something blasphemous.”29

The Jews around Jesus, seeing his humanity, perhaps knowing of his hometown and his human family, heard him say “I and the Father are one” And it had to look and sound like blasphemy… so they picked up stones again to stone him.

The Jewish law stipulated stoning for a variety of crimes: witchcraft (Lev. 20:27), worshiping other gods (Deut. 13:10), immoral conduct (22:24), violating the Sabbath (Num. 15:35–36), and blasphemy (Lev. 24:23). Jesus’ opponents believe he is claiming to be God (John 10:33).30

32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, 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 Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

Jesus defends himself in verse 34 by quoting from Psalm 82.

29 Burge, page 29630 Burge, G. M. (2000). John (pp. 296–297). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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Here on the screen is Psalm 82, verses 1 and then 6, 7, 8. Notice the words ‘gods’ in verses 1 and 6. The interpretation of Psalm 82 and Jesus’ use of it to defend himself turns on the question, “Who are the gods mentioned in the psalm?”

Over the history of interpretation of Psalm 82, many have assumed the gods in the psalm were some variation of human beings--for example the gods are Israel’s judges or the gods are the Israelites at Sinai (this is what the rabbis taught).

Using this idea--that the gods are human judges for example-- look at Jesus’ defense in verse 34 of our text…. Is it not written in your law (Jesus must be including the psalms in the term Law) “I said you are gods” (see verse 6 of Psalm 82 on the screen? And then look at our text in John, verse 35 if he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—vs. 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated (and by the way that word consecrated is connected to the Feast of Dedication/ Hanukkah) and sent into the world, You are blaspheming because I said I am the Son of God? Jesus’s point would seem to be then, if these are human judges that can in some sense be called gods (in light of their role as representatives of God), then the designation is even more appropriate for the one who truly is the Son of God31.

31 ESV Study Bible; Carson, page 397 “Psalm 82:6 proves that the word ‘god’ is legitimately used to refer to others than God himself. If there are others whom God (the author of scripture) can address as ‘god’ and ‘sons of the most high’, on what biblical basis should anyone object when Jesus says, I am God’s Son’

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There is another way of looking at it. Some32 have suggested that the gods in Psalm 82 refer to non-human divine beings (and there are a host of Old Testament scriptures that suggest the presence of such beings33). If the gods in Psalm 82 refer to non-human divine beings, then Jesus would be calling himself the Son of God just like other divine beings in Psalm 82 are called the Son of God (again see verse 6 of Psalm 82 on the screen). Jesus would therefore be claiming his own divinity.

In any event, and in either interpretation, Jesus is defending his right to be called the Son of God.34 He is not guilty of blasphemy.

And let’s not pass to quickly over the connection of verse 36 with Hanukkah. Jesus says of himself in verse 36 that He is the one whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world. In the events which Hanukkah celebrated, the temple was consecrated. In 1 Maccabees 4:48 we read, “They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the interior of the temple, and consecrated [hagiazo] the courts.” So here as the Jews are celebrating the consecration of the temple, an event that occurred back in 164 BC, a more significant consecrated one, the most significant consecrated one sent on a mission from God is in their midst and they are missing it. “Jesus then is the object of Hanukkah’s interest. He is the sanctified place, the holy place, the temple of God celebrated in this season.”35

Continuing in verse 37….

32 Heiser, “Jesus’ quotation of Psalm 82:6 in John 10:34: A Different View of John’s Theological Strategy. Post-sermon addition: Also, many commentators on the Psalms argue that this is the best way to understand Psalm 82. One of the key arguments against the position that these “gods” are referring to human rulers or judges is Psalm 82:7, which says of these “gods,” “nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” Thus, they are falling under God’s judgment, just like guilty humans do. That seems to suggest that these “gods” are not human, since their fate can be compared to the fate of humans.33 Gen. 6:2,4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Deut. 32:8-9, 4334 Post-sermon clarification: Jesus certainly is defending his right to refer to himself as “Son of God,” but the rhetorical “punch” of the argument lands differently depending on how they would have understood his reference to Ps. 82. If Ps. 82 was referring to human beings, then Jesus would be dismissing the Jewish leaders’ argument and they probably should have agreed with him. They should have concluded, “Well, Jesus has a point; if our Bible uses the term ‘god’ to refer to other human beings, then we can’t object to Jesus calling himself ‘god’ or ‘the son of god.” If that’s what Jesus is arguing, then he’s not really pushing their thinking further on; he’s simply dismissing their argument and getting himself out of trouble. But, if Ps. 82 was referring to heavenly beings or angels, then Jesus is actually pushing the Jewish leaders harder. Jesus would be saying, “Ps. 82 refers to beings other than Yahweh called ‘gods’; they were accountable to Yahweh and he delivered his word to them. And, in Ps. 82, they are being chastised for failing to do God’s works, failing to do what God had commissioned them to do. Now, I’m referring to myself as ‘the Son of God’ and I am showing you that I do the works of God, unlike these heavenly beings that Scripture acknowledges. I am greater than them and I am proving that I am greater than them, so you have no right to accuse me of blasphemy.” In this understanding, Jesus is not defending his right to refer to himself as “Son of God” in a way that gets him out of trouble. Instead, after he says this, they continue trying to arrest him.35 Burge, page 299

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37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

Jesus appeals to the evidence he wants them to weigh in verse 38, the works he does. Believe the works that you may come to know and continue to know that the Father is in me and I am in the Father

39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. 40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first and there he remained...Jesus went away to the region of Perea, east of the Jordan river, the place where it all began and where John had been baptizing at first back in John chapter 1. 41 And many came to him. ….Jesus’ voice, we remember, verse 16 and verse 27, attracts sheep. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” John the Baptist was the perfect witness. 42 And many believed in him there. Many sheep heard Jesus’ voice and began to follow.

{May I pause and insert a commercial about Awana camp? We hope to send maybe 20 kids to Awana camp this year. The cost is $260-270. It’s helpful for families that have several children going to have some scholarship help. If you’d like to give to that scholarship need just make your check out to Kilgore Bible and earmark it Awana Camp scholarships.}

Now what was that all about? That was shameless wasn’t it? Why would I insert a commercial about kids going to camp needing scholarships?

Well it just so happens that the early church father Theophylact commented on this portion of our text and made an argument for Christian camps… “WE may observe that our Lord often brings out the people into solitary places, thus ridding them of the society of the unbelieving, for their furtherance in the faith: just as he led them into the wilderness when he gave them the old law”36

“Jesus finds faith not among the ranks of the “religious” in the holy city of Jerusalem. Rather, he finds it when he moves to the desert and works among those who must travel at some hardship to find him. “Many people came to him” in the desert by the Jordan and believed in him, recognizing that this was God’s hand behind Jesus’ works and God’s voice within his words. But the leaders of Jerusalem will not see him again until they are given an opportunity to crucify him.”37

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36 Bruner, page 65237 Burge, G. M. (2000). John (p. 298). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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This past week I ran across a passage in Deuteronomy in my bible reading that makes the passage we’ve just studied shine like the diamond that it is.

Before we turn to that passage in Deuteronomy, let me begin with a statement-- It is an inestimable and indescribable privilege to hear our Shepherd King’s voice, to come to know him intimately, and to follow Him wherever he leads.

Let me say it again…-- It is an inestimable and indescribable privilege to hear our Shepherd King’s voice, to come to know him intimately, and to follow Him wherever he leads.

Turn with me to Deuteronomy 4, I’ll begin reading in verse 32. Deuteronomy 4:32.

{As you’re turning there let me offer just a little background….The name Deuteronomy means ‘second law.’ You’re aware that God gave the law to the people of Israel the first time at Mt Sinai. And you know, that that generation left Mt Sinai and went up to a place called Kadesh Barnea—on the very cusp of the Promised Land—where they rebelled and wouldn’t follow God into the land. As a result they were forced to wander in the wilderness 40 years until that entire generation died off---everyone except Joshua and Caleb. Forty years later God brought the people up to the land a second time, except this time they were on the east side of the Jordan River. And there Moses wrote and gave the book of Deuteronomy—the second law. A whole new generation needed to hear the law again. A whole new generation needed to understand God’s precepts and commandments. A whole new generation needed to have an appreciation of who God really was. }

Follow with me as I read Deuteronomy 4:32…

32 “For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, …. Look at what Moses is saying, “Look back, look back all the way to the time of creation… and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of…. in other words has there ever been anything so great as God’s revelation at Mt. Sinai?..has there ever been anything so great as the God of heaven coming down to speak on Mt. Sinai as he did?.... 33 Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? …Moses is referring to the terrifying scene in Exodus 19 when the Lord descended on the mountain with fire and the whole mountain trembled greatly.38 God verbally spoke to his people and it terrified them. Has there ever been a people that experienced that and lived? Isn’t Moses basically saying, “Aren’t you a privileged people to have heard a god like that, to have experienced that and lived?”

38 Exodus 19:18

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34 Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation…has there ever been a god who tried to extract a people from within another nation and bring them out for himself…(think about how God extracted you and me from this world and brought us to himself) …. by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?....have you ever seen such a thing? Has anyone ever seen such a thing? 35 To you it was shown….why? … that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him. God sent the plagues and did signs and wonders, great deeds of terror in the wilderness at Mt Sinai so that the people might know that there is no God but Yahweh.

36 Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire….Notice the continuing emphasis on hearing his voice…. 37 And because he loved your fathers….because he loved Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…. and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, 38 driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, 39 know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other….there in no God but Yahweh. 40 Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

Notice the flow of logic in the passage we’ve just read. Moses is clearly out to convince the people of the uniqueness of their God. There is no God like Yahweh. There is no God like Yahweh who let you hear his voice out of heaven, who let you hear his words out of the midst of the fire, who went in and took you for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand. And you are a very privileged people, Moses seems to say.

So obey Him! Keep his statutes and his commandments.

And we cross a bridge into the first century and we hear in John 10 Jesus revealing himself as the great shepherd king who calls his sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

We find him in our passage this morning walking in the colonnade of Solomon in Herod’s great temple. It is Hanukkah. It is the cold of winter. And many Jews surround him wondering if He

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is the Messiah. He has told them He is the Messiah through His works. Some have heard his voice. Some have not.

He continues to speak and many continue to hear his voice…not the terrifying voice from the mountain but the voice of a shepherd to His sheep. And their ears prick up and they begin to follow. And they begin to know the shepherd intimately. And he gives them eternal life. And He safely secures them in his grip and assures them that they will never perish. He tells them that His father is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of their Father’s grip.

We hear his voice

We come to know him intimately

We follow him and enjoy being safely in His grip.

It is an inestimable and indescribable privilege to hear our Shepherd King’s voice, to come to know him intimately, and to follow Him wherever he leads.

How about you? Have you heard the shepherd’s voice?

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