John 10:22-42 (Amplified Bible)
22After this the Feast of Dedication [of the reconsecration of the temple] was taking place at Jerusalem. It was winter,
23And Jesus was walking in Solomon's Porch in the temple area.
24So the Jews surrounded Him and began asking Him, How long are You going to keep us in doubt and suspense? If You are really the Christ (the Messiah), tell us so plainly and openly.
25Jesus answered them, I have told you so, yet you do not believe Me [you do not trust Me and rely on Me]. The very works that I do by the power of My Father and in My Father's name bear witness concerning Me [they are My credentials and evidence in support of Me].
26But you do not believe and trust and rely on Me because you do not belong to My fold [you are no sheep of Mine].
27The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me.
28And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand.
29My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater and mightier than all [else]; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father's hand.
30I and the Father are One.
31Again the Jews brought up stones to stone Him.
32Jesus said to them, My Father has enabled Me to do many good deeds. [I have shown many acts of mercy in your presence.] For which of these do you mean to stone Me?
33The Jews replied, We are not going to stone You for a good act, but for blasphemy, because You, a mere Man, make Yourself [out to be] God.
34Jesus answered, Is it not written in your Law, I said, You are gods?
35So men are called gods [by the Law], men to whom God's message came--and the Scripture cannot be set aside or cancelled or broken or annulled--
36[If that is true] do you say of the One Whom the Father consecrated and dedicated and set apart for Himself and sent into the world, You are blaspheming, because I said, I am the Son of God?
37If I am not doing the works [performing the deeds] of My Father, then do not believe Me [do not adhere to Me and trust Me and rely on Me].
38But if I do them, even though you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, [at least] believe the works and have faith in what I do, in order that you may know and understand [clearly] that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father [One with Him].
39They sought again to arrest Him, but He escaped from their hands.
40He went back again across the Jordan to the locality where John was when he first baptized, and there He remained.
41And many came to Him, and they kept saying, John did not perform a [single] sign or miracle, but everything John said about this Man was true.
42And many [people] there became believers in Him. [They adhered to and trusted in and relied on Him.]
As I read this passage, it struck me freshly that the Pharisees were very religious, much respected, very knowledgeable, very educated; they were the elite of Jewish society. Yet, they tried to stone God. They called God blasphemous. They missed the greatest moment in Christian history – or should I say every one of the greatest moments in history?
Why? They weren’t listening to the Shepherd. They weren’t one of His sheep.
You can be a sheep and not be listening to the Shepherd. We are given the freedom to exercise our own free wills in decision-making.
This passage made me think of a time when I was just learning the Bible and still mixing it with tradition and man-made laws. I hurt someone that I loved very much by telling him that what he was about to do was a grave sin. He considered what I said; searched the Scriptures; and came back to me. He said that he could not find anything in Scripture to back up what I was telling him; and he proceeded to do – what I would later discover – was not a sin.
Because of my love for this person, I began to search the Scriptures and the counsel of Godly men and women, especially a pastor that I loved and respected. It wasn’t there. This act, though not accepted by society and my social circles, was not a sin. I asked God’s forgiveness and the man’s forgiveness. I write with tears in my eyes when I tell you that he died, a young man, only two years later. Thank God that he found it in his heart to forgive my arrogance and Pharisaical attitudes.
Be careful, Beloved. When you stand in judgment or declare that something is a sin. Be sure that it is not just a tradition that you are upholding. Be sure that you uphold Scripture.
