And thank you, praise team. Don't they always
do a great job? Amen? They do. I don't know if
you realize, we are blessed with Josiah and our
team up here, and that song, the shepherd, the
good shepherd, and he leads me and he's all I
ever need, it's like that is an absolutely perfect
song for our text this morning, and so thank
you. My name's Bob Davis. Forgive me if some
of you are like, who is this guy up here? Because
I've been gone most of the summer. Just a...
quick word of explanation. My wife and I work
for a ministry called Operation Heal Our Patriots,
which is about 17 weeks in Port Allsworth. So
all summer long, we're back in and out, in and
out for weeks at a time, leading couples in a
marriage event that's looking to restore and
redeem their marriages. And so many coming to
Christ, many being baptized, many couples renewing
their marriage vows. And so for the summer. Alaska
summers are already busy, right? So this takes
us away for quite a while. So anyway, that's
who I am. And welcome. We're glad that you're
here this morning. And we're picking up in John
chapter 10. And there's a little piece here that
we didn't have up on the screen. That was 19,
20, 21. It's kind of a little transition piece
that we'll get into for just a moment. But we're
wrapping up a significant portion of John over
this week and next. Whether you realize it or
not, these first 10 or 11 chapters of John have
been really like going fast, right? If you listen
to an audio book, it's at like 1 .52, right?
Times the normal speed, meaning that this is
like three years of Jesus's life and ministry,
right? These first 11 chapters. And it's about
ready to go. And slow way down, and we're going
to zoom in as we come to Jesus' questioning and
his arrest and the Passion Week and his crucifixion
and so forth, right? Like the whole second half
of the book is basically two weeks, right? The
first half of the book is three years, right?
So whether you realize that or not, in our text
today, we're going to hear the final rejection
of Jesus by the Jewish leadership. So at this
time, in John chapter 10, Jesus has been unpacking
what John calls a figure of speech, right? So
we heard this last week, and if you look in verse
6, it says, this figure of speech Jesus used
with them, and that figure of speech is all about
the shepherd and his sheep. In this word picture
that Jesus paints, there's a sheepfold, of course,
which is a flock, and Jesus is the door, the
entry into that sheepfold. And in verse 11, he
tells us that he is the good shepherd, and there
are both Jewish sheep and some other sheep outside
of this flock, right, that are a part of his
flock. And Jesus' words that his mission given
to him by the Father is to lay down his life
for his sheep. Now, that would have absolutely
resonated with this culture, right? These guys,
they would have known, right? They would have
understood what it means for the shepherd, right,
to stand up. You know, David talked about a bear
and a wolf or this or that, right? So predators,
things, you know, the thief, if you will, right,
trying to come in. Well, he's going to stand
up and fight them off to protective sheep. But
the challenging piece that he said, not only
will I lay my life down, but I have the power
to take it up again. And so in verse 19, where
this transition piece we pick up, it says that
there was again a division among the Jews because
of these words. Many said of him, he has a demon
or he's insane. Why would we listen to this guy?
Others said, these are not the words of one who
is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the
eyes of the blind? It's these words preceding
the text that has caused them to answer this
way. I am the good shepherd. I lay down my life
for my sheep. I have other sheep I will bring,
and for this reason the Father loves me because
I lay it down and I take up my life again, right?
So no one takes it from me, but I lay it down,
and I have the authority to lay it down and the
authority to pick it up again. These are the
words that are sparking this response by this
crew, right? Now, some of his... listeners obviously
think Jesus has gone crazy. This is not normal
language, right? I mean, we can resonate with
the idea of laying down. No greater love than
to lay down your life for a brother, right? I
mean, from the military, we get that deeply.
And military or not, you understand that. But
dead people don't take their lives up again.
He said, I have the authority to take it up again,
right? If there's a resurrection, They're not
doubting that, right? At the end time, they think
that, you know, at least part of them think there
will be a resurrection, but God does that. Not
a dead person to himself, right? And obviously,
therein lies the point. This isn't just some
random person. This is Jesus that we're talking
about here. And so, we come to verse 22, and
John is very intentional. about letting us know
that the Feast of Dedication was taking place
in Jerusalem, and it was winter, right? He just
like drops those little tidbits in there along
the way, right? And it was winter. And that'll
be somewhat important as we jump into the text
today. Interestingly, The feast of dedication
that you see there is not one of the three major
biblical feasts that we read about in Scripture.
So, meaning you're not going to go look through
the Old Testament and see explicit instruction
of how this feast was to be conducted or observed,
right? It's just not there. The three different
biblical feasts or festivals are Passover. The
Feast of Weeks and the Feast of the Tabernacle,
right? So we don't have time to get into all
of them, but John uses them as chronological
markers throughout the gospel. And so we know
that the Feast of the Tabernacle or Feast of
Booths, right? You remember this, the little
shelters, right? This happens in the previous
chapters where we just went through. And it happens
each year in September, October, right? In that
time frame. And the Feast of Dedication takes
place in November, December. So that's where
we find ourselves right now. So from last week's
text to this week's text, you know, weeks, maybe
a couple months have gone by, right? There's
a little bit of time in here. And so that's where
we find ourselves right now. So what exactly
is the Feast of Dedication and why is John talking
about it? So you've probably heard the term Hanukkah
before, right? Hanukkah, yeah? It's not just
Jewish Christmas, right? That's not a thing,
right? Hanukkah is an eight -day winter festival
that commemorates the cleansing and the rededication
of the second temple in Jerusalem. After it had
been defiled by the Syrian Greek king Antiochus
IV, right? So this guy comes in, they overthrow,
they take over the temple. He goes as far as
to take all the stuff down that points to Yahweh,
right? And he builds his own altars and they
sacrifice pigs upon them. They discourage or
disallow circumcision. They absolutely, their
way of life is disrupted and plagued by this
king. And it goes on for a few years, right?
And maybe you've heard of the Maccabean Revolution.
So a guy by the name of Judas Maccabeus leads
the charge to overrun this pagan king and restore
the temple. And after the first sacrifice is
made to Yahweh in the restored and reclaimed
temple, right? Purified and in right order again,
the Jews begin to meet each year after that.
And they assemble in their homes. and they light
candles to remember how God delivered them from
darkness and oppression and how the temple was
restored. So I want you to see the irony here
as we start into this that John is telling us
that it's during this time when things were renewed
and restored that Jesus, the great deliverer
and purifier of the temple, he's the great one
that does this, is walking in the covered porch
section. of the temple. It's called Solomon's
colonnade, right? So think big pillars and it's
just, you know, it's a side. It's not the inside,
the main. It's the porch, if you will. And he's
walking along and he would not be received. He
would not be recognized as the one who truly
is cleansing and purifying and renewing. And
so, As we jump in, let me try to give you a big
picture of what's happening in these verses that
we're going to go through this morning, and then
we'll unpack it in some detail. So, Jesus is
walking in the temple, and according to verse
24, the Jews gathered around him and said to
him, how long will you keep us in suspense? If
you are the Christ, just think about that for
a moment, if you're the Messiah, the long -hoped
-for one who would bring the kingdom of God to
pass, tell us, In other words, the figure of
speech that you've been using with all the talk
about sheep and the shepherd and the door and
all that stuff, it's not plain enough. We want
some plain speech, Jesus. Are you or are you
not the Messiah? And what happens then is that
Jesus answers them way beyond what they expect.
They're on the brink of killing him for blasphemy.
And to defuse this crisis because it's not yet
time for his death, He deflects their rage with
a very particular biblical maneuver that he pulls.
And in that little time that this buys him before
they try to seize him, he offers one more invitation.
One more attempt at winning them over and accepting
who he is. And then John transports us across
the Jordan for a closing scene which contains
a key to faith. And so that's kind of the 50
,000 meter view of the map. Now we're going to
pull in a little bit. And so... In verse 24,
if you look with me, if you don't have a Bible,
they're back here. We have these books of John.
They're great because you can write notes and
stuff in here. And so if you're new here and
you didn't bring it, like there's one back there
for you, we want you to take it, right? So here
in verse 24, we see that the Jews gather around
them and they say, how long are you going to
keep us in suspense? If you're the Messiah, tell
us. This phrase can actually, this question can
be interpreted a couple of different ways, right?
How long will you plague us, right? I want you
to think of Antiochus IV. He literally plagued,
like the Jews, a little differently, obviously,
a lot differently, but this idea that he was
a thorn to them, like we can't wait for him to
leave because he's disrupting our way of life.
Why are you trying to take away our way of life?
And I wonder, are they more concerned about their
traditions and their way of life, so much so
that they're literally missing Jesus, right?
You know the scriptures, Jesus tells them, but
I'm the one they're pointing to, and yet you
don't know me, right? So he's basically saying
that their previous way of worship, because Jesus
is about to disrupt everything, right? Their
focus, their purpose. Their lifestyle was about
to be rendered useless, right? The old temple
practices, like that's not going to do it anymore,
right? That's not what this is about. He was
ushering in an absolute change to their way of
life, what they orbited around. And so here they
are. John paints this picture. They are at this
feast celebrating the good old days returned,
right? They're celebrating the good old days
brought back, and Jesus is going to tell them,
yeah, that's all going away. I'm replacing all
of that. And so they're irritated. And they say
to him, this is not a genuine curiosity kind
of thing. They are irritated with him. Tell us
plainly. No more stories. And I love... what
Jesus says. He says, I told you. I told you.
I gave you an answer. I told you, and you don't
believe. He's really saying that that's what
the figure of speech that he's been using is
all about. The door, the shepherd, the laying
down of his life. Think Isaiah 53, right? He's
literally using their scriptures. And painting
this picture of who he is, the one who has invincible
supernatural authority to take back his own life
and is gathering a people to live forever in
joy. I told you that's my answer. But not only
have I told you, but I've shown you. Look in
verse 25. In verse 25, he says, I tell you and
you don't believe. Jesus answered them, the works
that I do in my Father's name testify about me,
but you don't believe. Why? Because you're not
one of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and I
know them and they follow me. Now folks, this
is the way Jesus always operates. Not only is
he going to tell you in his word, but he's going
to show you. And he's done that. His words and
his deeds clearly reveal his Messiahship. And
I think it's worth this sidebar discussion real
fast of what the folks are expecting by Messiahship.
You probably already know this, right? But historically,
the idea of Messiah was one who would come to
purge Jerusalem from the Gentiles who have trampled
her to destruction. So think the Messiah, the
Christ, is going to be a guy like Judas Maccabeus.
Who will come and set them free from their physical
enemies. They're looking for someone to overthrow
Rome, right? I mean, they're under the thumb
right now. They're oppressed right now. They're
being plagued by Rome. They're looking for someone
to overthrow that. And they're frustrated. So
they're not asking with hopeful anticipation
here. And it seems that they're past the point
of genuine concern. They want Jesus to plainly
dismiss. this crazy idea that he's the Messiah
so that they can be done with him. Or, please,
please, Jesus, let us catch you blaspheming,
right? Let us catch you saying more than that
because we all think you're saying something
more than that. And if you're saying what we
think you're saying, yeah, well, we're going
to end that. We're going to stone you. And so
now Jesus is going to go way beyond plain speech.
Verse 25, I've told you and I've shown you, you
don't believe because you're not of my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they
follow me. So Jesus, he's making it clear. Their
unbelief is not a lack of evidence, right? It's
not a result of that. It's not because they haven't
seen enough, right? Nor is it a result of an
unclear message. The question that they're asking
Jesus is rooted in a hard and unbelieving heart.
They do not believe because they are not among
his sheep. I don't know about you, but that makes
me go, well, what did Jesus' sheep look like,
right? Like, how do you know? How do I know if
I'm one, right? And he tells us, he tells us,
my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they
follow me. Jesus' sheep follow him. They know
the voice of the good shepherd and they follow.
Last week, Caleb mentioned, you know, deployed
a lot of times combat deployments overseas, Middle
East, and you get to see all kinds of stuff whether
you want to or not. And I just happened to be
at this place where there's a wadi, right, where
there's this collection of water and the hills
and a lot of these shepherds, and most of them
are pretty young, right? They're young, they're
boys, right? The boys and their families leading
these flocks of sheep. And it's not very... pretty,
actually, when you look at it. Like, they're
kind of ratty looking. They're not the sheep
that you see at the fair here this week, right?
When you go in and look at, like, they're kind
of dirty, and they got clumps of crap all over
them, and they've been, I mean, it's a sight
to see, and it smells. There's flies everywhere,
right? I mean, it's, and these sheep, they all
gathered at this waterhole, and The sheep intermingle
like four, five, six, I don't know how many shepherds
were there watering their sheep at that time
of the morning, right? And after they were done,
when the shepherd was satisfied that his sheep
had had enough water, he makes his own peculiar
call, and he begins walking away. He's just walking
away, making his call, and guess what happens?
All of the sheep that were intermingled, his
sheep separate, and they walk out, and they're
just following this boy. Kind of cool looking
to see it happen, right? Why didn't any of the
other sheep follow? They weren't a part of his
flock. They didn't know his voice, right? Why
would they follow? I don't know that dude. They
don't follow him, right? Only his sheep followed.
If you are following Jesus, if you know his voice,
I've got great news for you this morning. You
are a part of his fold. You are one of his sheep.
And that's going to get really important and
really good here just in the next couple of verses
why that's important, right? So they do not recognize
his voice. Therefore, they don't follow him.
Their rejection of Jesus is proving they do not
belong to Jesus. And I get the feeling that they
probably didn't care a whole lot about it, right?
Like, oh boy, I don't belong to your metaphorical
sheepfold, Jesus, big whoop. Like, you think
they were bothered by it? No, they're irritated,
right? They're ticked off at him. But look at
verse 28 and 29. I give them eternal life, and
they will never perish. No one. Let that sink
for a second. No one will snatch them out of
my hand, Jesus says. My Father who has given
them to me is greater than all. No one is able
to snatch them out of the Father's hand. It's
only those who belong to Jesus to hear his call
to come and believe and who respond in obedience
that will be given eternal life. Eternal life
is not something that one can earn. It's freely
given, right? You guys know Ephesians chapter
2. We are saved by grace through faith, and this
is not of your doing. It is the gift of God,
not a result of works so that no one may boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand
that we should walk in them. We must always understand
and remember that eternal life is a gift. You
bring nothing to the table. You realize that,
right? You got nothing to offer. There's no trade.
There's no barter, right? So the lowest of the
low to the guy or the gal that you think is the
most saintliest person, it's all level at the
foot of the cross. We bring nothing. Paul says
we are all but filthy rags. You got nothing.
Except the gift that Jesus gives you. And when
does the gift become your gift? When you receive
it, right? Until that point, it's just a gift,
right? But when we receive the gift that Christ
offers, when we receive it, it becomes ours.
And it sounds simple, but it's not simplistic.
The hope of eternal life does not rest on your
shoulders. It rests upon the shoulders of Jesus.
If your faith resides in Jesus, rest in the fact
that no one... will ever be able to snatch you
out of his hand. And how do we know that no one
will be able to snatch you out of his hand? We
know this to be true because of verse 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. So I want you to notice three
things here as we go through this. First, when
the father gives his sheep into the omnipotent
hand of the son, right? When the father gives
them to the son, they are still in the father's
hand. Verse 29 says, 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.
So even though they are in the Father's hand,
he has put them into the Son's hand, and they
are still in the Father's hand. This is hard
to get, right? How can they be in both hands
at the same time? It's kind of like he's got
you. Like you're here. You're not just sitting
here like a sitting duck. Literally, the Father
and the Son, they've got you. You can't get in
here. No one can pluck them out. So what does
this imply? This is the second thing. Look with
me in verse 30. In verse 30. Verse 30 is the
equivalent of the Bruce Lee one -inch punch,
right, to these Jews. If you know, you know what
I'm talking about, right? Like the ha, like it
is the, it's just this little thing, and the
result is way, like it's, this is huge. As a
matter of fact, he gives the clearest statement,
Jesus, of his own identity. anywhere in Scripture.
So if you want to say, ah, well, did Jesus ever
say he's God? Like literally right here, John
chapter 10, verse 30, the clearest statement
of Jesus' divinity from his own lips, he says,
I and the Father are one. Right? So he's trying
to talk about this idea still of you're in his
hand, but you're in my hand, and you're here.
I and the Father are one. And his final answer
about his identity is way beyond Messiahship.
Right? Way beyond what they're expecting. It's
about oneness with God the Father. And the third
piece here, notice that Jesus takes us to this
answer by showing us how this oneness serves
our salvation, our eternal joy, our safety. The
Father and I are one. No one can take you. From
my father, because my father is stronger than
all. And when you're in my hand, you're in his
hand. And when you're in his hand, you're in
my hand. His omnipotence, our unity is your safety,
your salvation. And so this lesson here, right
out driving it home, Jesus takes us to the heights
of doctrinal truth about himself. He is one with
the father. In the beginning, this is all of
John, he tells us this, right? In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God, and the Word became flesh.
But he does it by showing us the immediate application
for our lives. No one can snatch you from my
hand or the Father's hand. Which are one hand.
Have I beaten that enough yet? Like, are you
picking this up? Are you getting it, right? In
other words, doctrine, theology, biblical propositions
like I and the Father want are always related
to the implication for human life. Don't be afraid
of doctrine. Just be afraid of disconnected doctrine
that has no bearing, right? That doesn't make
a difference for life or eternity. So Jesus'
answer to the question in verse 24 is yes. I
am the Messiah and infinitely more. And all of
this is absolutely relevant for your eternal
safety. And so what's their response? What do
you think? What's their response? They're going
to execute him here and now, right? The Jews
picked up stones again to stone him. And Jesus
answered them, I've shown you many good works
from the Father, right? Here they are. They're
like, this is it. Like, he just said it. Let's
go, right? And they all pick them. They're not,
you know, they're not out there getting some
pea gravel. Like, Jesus, here you're like, they're
picking up weapons, right? They're picking up
rocks. They're going to stone him for what he
said. And he says, I've shown you many good works
from the Father, right? In verse 31. For which
of them are you going to stone me? He says, it's
not because of good works that we're going to
be stoned, but for your blasphemy. Because you
being a man, make yourself God. So what's clear
here is that the Jewish leaders understood verse
30, where Jesus said, I am the Father of what?
They heard blasphemy. And verse 33, blasphemy
because you being a man, make yourself God. They
heard that he's claiming to be deity. This is
what they're hearing. And this is not the first
time they've accused Jesus of this. Back in John
5, listen to verse 18. This was why the Jews
were seeking all the more to kill him, because
not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he
was even calling God his own father, making himself
equal with God. So they're not just saying in
10 .33, you're acting like a god, a little g.
They are saying you are making yourself equal
with God. The same as God. And so their response
in Jewish culture is understandable, right? It's
blasphemy, which is punishable by execution,
a man claiming to be God. So the question is,
were they right? Were they right? Because I think
we all know that we could read this differently,
right? I could say Caleb and I are one, right?
We're of one heart, one mind, right? We're on
the same page. Jesus could be saying one in purpose,
one in action, one in affection, but that's not
what he was saying. It was something far greater
than that, and they understood it. They were
right, and Jesus knew they were right because
the whole context of the gospel of John is saying
Jesus is saying what he's saying, right? That
they were right. Listen, quickly, very quickly,
six passages. We already talked about John's
prologue. In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word became God,
right? Or excuse me, the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us. John chapter 5, truly I say to
you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord,
but whatever he sees the Father doing, for whatever
the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
No human can say all that the Father does, right?
I do. John 8. Jesus says to them, truly, truly,
I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. The ego
of me, right? The very name of Yahweh, the name
of God himself. He's saying this very intentionally.
John 10, we just read, I have authority to lay
my life down and take it up again. No mere human
can take up their life when he's dead. John 12,
Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory
and spoke of him. And John considers the glory
of God that Isaiah saw to be the glory of Jesus.
And later in John chapter 20, we're going to
read, Thomas answered him, my Lord and my God.
And how did Jesus receive that? As truth and
as worship and called it faith. So we know that
the charge of blasphemy in John 10, 33 is based
on something that Jesus' adversaries were seeing
correctly. He was claiming to be equal with God,
and for that they were about to kill him. And
so in verse 31, it says they picked up stones.
What will Jesus do to diffuse this explosive
moment? Because it's not yet his hour to die,
right? I mean... Nowhere in the gospel story
is it that, yep, and Jesus got stoned to death
and the story ended that day, right? Obviously
not. And so this is not the way it was planned
by the Father. And so what he does to divert
their hostility here is this exegetical maneuver.
And I owe this to John Piper. This is all Piper
right here about this idea of a maneuver, right?
The Heisman, right? He's slipping away. He's
diverting them, right? He says, is it not written
in your law? That I said, you are gods with a
little g. If he called them gods to whom the
word of God came, the scripture cannot be broken.
Do you say of him whom the Father consecrated
and sent into the world, you are blaspheming
because I said I'm the son of God? So the reason...
that we call this a maneuver, is because there's
nothing conclusive here, right? He's hearkening
back to a psalm. He's hearkening back to, you
know, their own scriptures where God used the
term little g, God, somewhere along the way for
one of his prophets, his teachers, right? And
so he's saying if God used that term to refer
to a lesser being who the recipients of his word,
can he not use it for me? So it's almost like
this, like I said, exegetical maneuver. It's
not a conclusive argument. It's a deflection.
A diversion. It doesn't settle the issue. It's
a maneuver. But it is true. And so a valid pointer
to a certain openness of language, but it's not
conclusive. But what the maneuver did was it
stopped the rocks from flying. It took the heat
out of the kitchen for a moment and bought Jesus
some time. And so they are just about to seize
him in verse 39. But he gives one more plea.
And folks, don't miss this. Because if there
was still a chance for them, there's a chance
for you. He says in verses 37 and 38, If I'm
not doing the works of my Father, then do not
believe me. But if I do them, even though you
do not believe me, believe the works that you
may know and understand. And that word know and
understand is the same word. It's just a past
tense and a present tense of the word gnosko,
which means to know, to really know, right? So
it's a, I now know and I continue growing to
know, growing in knowledge, right? So it's this
ongoing thing. This is what Jesus is inviting
them to, that you might know and know me more.
That the Father is in me and I am in the Father.
And again, they sought to arrest him, but he
escaped from their hands. So in the face of opposition
and rejection, Jesus continues to offer the invitation
to come and believe. What a picture of grace.
They've got rocks to pummel him. Have you ever
been hit by a rock, right? I mean, have you literally,
could you, Craig, could you imagine, dude, if
I got close to you and not just me, but how about
all the dudes that are going to be at Steak and
Stogie's on Friday night, right? Look, shameless
plug, right? There it is, right? Imagine, like.
Craig's blaspheming, and 25 dudes standing around
you with intent, boy, I'm going to get him. When
I was a kid, I grew up in South Florida for a
couple of years, and my sister and I used to
have to walk about a half a mile to school. And
we literally would walk, and I'm talking kindergarten
and second grade. It was like that back then,
right? Both ways uphill in the snow. Wait, it
was Florida, no snow. And so on the way home
every day, the fifth and sixth graders got out
of school before us. And there were these three
or four boys that would hide in the woods. They'd
hide in the bushes. There ain't no woods in South
Florida, whatever that is down there, right?
They'd hide and they'd wait for my sister and
I to come walking by. And it didn't take very
long every day when we walked home, like we were
just, we were scared to death. We're looking
because these boys had come out and they had
rocks. Thank God they didn't have rocks like
this. They had, you know, little skipping kind
of rocks, right? And they would come out with
a handful and just chase us and pelt us with
these rocks. And I mean, I remember my head bleeding
and running home screaming and these boys tore,
right? That's nothing compared to what they're
about to do to Jesus. Right? They literally,
they want to take his life from him. And in the
middle of that threat, Jesus is still thinking,
they don't know. They don't know what they're
doing. Father, how can I penetrate their hardness?
How can I get to their heart? How can I extend
this invitation to them again? In the middle
of that threat, Jesus is still offering. Have
you continually rejected Jesus your whole life?
Folks, I got to tell you, when Jesus calls, right,
when he's walking away from the water hole and
you stay at the water hole and you don't follow,
you might not think that's rejection, but you're
not following. And there's only two kinds of
people. Those who stay at the water hole, keep
on drinking after he left, or those who pick
up and go and follow, right? There's no in -between,
like, no, you're either, nah, I'm good, I'm going
to do my own thing, or you're following him.
So if you've not been following Jesus, the invitation
to come and believe is not yet off the table.
That's incredible to me. How about this? Do you
know someone who this describes? Don't give up
praying for them. Don't give up just continually
pointing and talking and sharing the hope of
the gospel just like Jesus. Because if Jesus
continues to love, offer hope to those who are
seeking to kill him, man, what a remarkable picture
of loving your enemies, right? In the middle
of that, he's still doing this. If Jesus continues
to do that to folks who are ready to kill him,
I think we can probably extend love and grace
and hope to those who wrong us. And you would
think that the story's over, that it ends with
opposition and unbelief. And John could have
stopped right here and turned, right, to chapter
11, Lazarus, but he didn't. And for some reason,
he gives us another snapshot of Jesus across
the Jordan to the northeast where many believed.
Why is it that he wraps up chapter 10 this way?
So he departed again across the Jordan to the
place where John had been baptizing earlier and
he remained there. Many came to him and... and
said, they said this to Jesus, John never did
a sign, but everything John said about this man
was true, and many believed in him there. Is
there a key there for us? A key maybe to the
kind of soil in which faith springs up and grows
because so much of this passage that we've just
read has been about the words and the works of
Jesus, so it is doubly important, as I close
with this, if the team wants to prepare to come
forward here again to lead us in response, so
it's doubly important here for us to see that
John did no work. John did no sign, and yet many
believed in him there. Folks, that... That is
phenomenally encouraging to me. And it should
be to you as well. Why? John did no sign. And
yet many believed in Jesus. Why? Because John...
consistently pointed to Jesus. He threw the spotlight
utterly on Jesus. His very life orbited around
Jesus. When we live our lives in this way, following
the shepherd, knowing his voice, pointing consistently
to him when we interact in our daily walk and
talk in our circles of influence, Jesus will
do the rest. He'll do the rest. We are simply
called to be faithful followers, and you might
doubt, I don't know, I don't know if I got any
impact for the kingdom or not. Let me ask you
this. Can you follow Jesus? Can you point to
him? If that's not true for you today, come talk
to one of us. The offer's still there, but if
the answer's yes, then you know his voice, you're
a part of his fold, and he has you in his hand.
Amen? As we've heard probably a couple times
already today, this is the center of our DNA
here at Radiant Church. We follow Jesus. We are
a family of missionary disciples following Jesus,
pointing to Jesus, doing life together, encouraging
one another, especially when we're not doing
a great job at following. Come on, man, let's
go. This is how we live. We do this together.
He's doing the miracles. He's the one that's
redeeming hearts and minds and changing lives.
We're just pointing to him along the way. Telling
our stories about how Jesus has changed us. And
that sounds just like John the Baptist's legacy.
Following and pointing to Jesus. You remember
what John said? He must increase. I must decrease.
No signs. Nothing miraculous like that. I'm just
pointing to him. Following him. Humble faithfulness.
And so as we move to a time of response. We have
the opportunity to receive the bread and the
cup, the work of Jesus this morning. We don't
earn that. He gave it freely. And yet it came
at the greatest cost, His body broken, His blood
shed, that you and I might be free and secure
in our relationship with Him for eternity. That
is good news, folks. So as we stand together,
as we get ready for the team to lead us in worship
and response, I just want you to think about
that gift that the Lord has given you. And how
are you doing at following him and pointing to
others, right? How are you doing? What's that
look like in your life? Because that's what he
calls us to. Amen? What a gift.