At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the Portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us openly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these bear witness of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish—ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 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.
John 10:22-29
Introduction
A festive time of year, the Feast of the Dedication, was taking place as Jesus walked along the Portico of Solomon, or the outermost portion of the east side of the Temple. If you search your Bibles for commands regarding the Feast of the Dedication, you will find it surprisingly lacking. That is because it is not a feast ever commanded by God. Instead, it is a commemoration of the resilience of God’s people in the face of total destruction.
In 167 BC, Antiochus IV, having marched his armies into Jerusalem, seized the Temple and dedicated the structure to his false god, Zeus. At the dedication, he sacrificed a pig on the alter, fulfilling the prophecy of Daniel 11. This prompted an event called the Maccabean Revolt, recorded in the apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees, which resulted in the driving out of the Greeks and a rededication of God’s Temple. Today the holiday is known as Hanukkah, but in Jesus’ day it was simply called the Feast of the Dedication. Ultimately the holiday was changed from celebrating the dedication to celebrating a miracle not even recorded in Maccabees because the Temple was lost in its entirety to the Roman armies a mere 30 years after Jesus was teaching.
What a fitting occasion for the Lord to walk about the Temple and teach of a deliverance that is permanent and never failing.
A reminder of the witnesses
This brief teaching begins with Christ’s appeal to the basis of His authority. He can be trusted to speak the truth because God has witnessed of Him through the miracles He has performed. Jesus is very concerned with your understanding this fact. The Lord repeatedly makes this point when delivering His messages to the Pharisees to emphasize the fact that while their teachings are merely derived from man, His come directly from God.
His listeners demand to know whether He is the Messiah. They expect the Messiah to come before the Sanhedrin and receive their blessing in declaration. Jesus refuses to participate in their expectations, however, which are ultimately rooted in the hollow teachings of men. And finally, He gives us a reason why they refuse to believe Him no matter the abundance of evidence: “you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.”
Before Christ’s advent, the gentiles belonged to Satan, and only Israel contained God’s people (Deuteronomy 32:8-9; Matthew 4:9). But now with His arrival, there are those who belong to Him who are “not from this fold,” (John 10:16) that must be called. Where before, the world could largely be divided into Israel and Gentiles, now it is divided as His sheep and those who are not His sheep. The Pharisees do not believe Him specifically because they are not His sheep. They never were and never will be.
Will… will… will…
But for those who are His sheep, revealed only in the moment they hear the gospel and rejoice, He provides an abundance of promises. The first promise is as simple as it is difficult to accept: “they follow Me.” If you are His sheep, it is inevitable. You will follow Him. It isn’t that you are without choice, of course. Rather, it is that the joy of hearing the voice of your shepherd is so overwhelming that no other choice becomes acceptable to you.
Quickly following this short promise is the one everyone focuses on: “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish—ever.” This promise is fixed and complete. No condition is added to it. There is no consideration of one becoming a sheep, receiving eternal life, and then becoming a non-sheep, losing that life. His sheep have eternal life.
And finally, He locks this down by stating, “and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” This is a promise that no power in heaven or on earth will ever be able to expose you to wrath and judgment if you are His sheep. No condemnation stands for you (Romans 8:1), and your standing before God rests eternally in the perfect person of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). This salvation is entirely dependent on the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-9), a grace which is made manifest in you, bringing Him glory (Ezekiel 36:22).
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
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