JOHN 10:17-21 THEREFORE MY FATHER LOVES ME, BECAUSE I LAY DOWN MY LIFE THAT I MAY TAKE IT AGAIN

John 10:17 "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 "No one takes 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 command I have received from My Father." 19 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. 20 And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?" 21 Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

 In this section of Scripture, we see the Father’s special love for Jesus and all who obey His commandments.  We don’t work to be saved; rather we work because we are saved. Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  Jesus came with a purpose to lay down His life that we may take up the new life that He gives us.  Jesus tells them that He has the power over His life and His death; no one will do anything that He doesn’t want them to do to Him. He also says He will live again and all the things He said caused division among the Jews as usual.  Jesus always creates division, not because He is mean and nasty, but because some people want to know the truth and others don’t. Those that don’t want to know the truth are the mean and nasty ones who cause the problems. Finally, they cannot speak to what He says intelligently, so they attack Him verbally as they have many times in the past.  Isn’t that what we all do when we can’t win the discussion, we begin to attack the others and so it always ends?

 Romans 3:17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of your relationship to God 18 and know his will and approve the superior things because you receive instruction from the law, 19 and if you are convinced that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth— 21 therefore you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law. 24 For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (Romans 2:17-24).

The Gospel of John is written in a way that links the declarations of Jesus to His deeds. John does this to show that Jesus’ words must be taken seriously, because of the works that accompany them.

30 Now Jesus performed many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples that are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:30-31).

So it is in John’s Gospel that Jesus is continually performing some miraculous deed, which validates a declaration He has made, or will make shortly. These “signs” that our Lord performs demonstrate that He is who He claims to be. The One who claims to be the “Bread of Life” (6:35) is the same One who feeds the 5,000 (John 6:1-14). The last words Jesus speaks before giving the man born blind his sight are: “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). While many of the Jews object to the teaching of our Lord, accusing Him of being demon possessed, many others protest, “These are not the words of someone possessed by a demon. A demon cannot cause the blind to see, can it?” (John 10:21). They take Jesus’ words seriously because of His works. In our text, Jesus claims to be “the resurrection and the life,” assuring His listeners that anyone who believes in Him will live, even though he dies (11:25). This is just shortly before He calls Lazarus out of the tomb, where he has been for four days!

After Jesus feeds the crowd of 5,000 men, the people respond: “This is certainly the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14).

When Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, he acknowledged that Jesus had “come from God,” based upon the deeds He had done: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him” (John 3:2).

In our text, the Apostle John continues to employ the imagery of sheep and shepherding, but he does so with an emphasis on the relationship between words and deeds. Hypocrisy is not just the sin of the Pharisees. If you and I were honest, we would admit that we are all hypocrites, and in a big way! This text has a great deal to say to us about Jesus, about words and deeds, and about hypocrisy. Let us listen and learn what the Spirit of God has to say to us through His inspired Word. Let us resolve ahead of time, that by God’s grace, we will do what this text teaches us we should do, and that our deeds will conform to His words, as well as our own.

20 And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?"

Jewish religious leaders are more determined than ever to put Him to death. It is now only a matter of the right opportunity.

 21 Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

The Gospel of John is written in a way that links the declarations of Jesus to His deeds. John does this to show that Jesus’ words must be taken seriously, because of the works that accompany them.  John 20:30-31.

So it is in John’s Gospel that Jesus is continually performing some miraculous deed, which validates a declaration He has made, or will make shortly.

This is not an entirely new thing. Throughout the Gospel of John, men strongly differ as to who Jesus is (see John 6:52; 7:43; 9:16). Those opposed to Jesus are becoming more and more intense in their opposition. They have already purposed to put Him to death (see 5:18; 7:1, 19-20, 25; 8:37, 40).

 In this section of Scripture we see the Father’s special love for Jesus and all who obey His commandments.  We don’t work to be saved; rather we work because we are saved. Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  Jesus came with a purpose to lay down His life that we may take up the new life that He gives us.  Jesus tells them that He has the power over His life and His death; no one will do anything that He doesn’t want them to do to Him. He also says He will live again and all the things He said caused division among the Jews as usual.  Jesus always creates division, not because He is mean and nasty, but because some people want to know the truth and others don’t. Those that don’t want to know the truth are the mean and nasty ones who cause the problems. Finally they cannot speak to what He says intelligently, so they attack Him verbally as they have many times in the past.  Isn’t that what we all do when we can’t win the discussion, we begin to attack the others and so it always ends?

 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today. https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-z897g-aad45f

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