THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

John: Believing On The Christ, The Son Of God, For Eternal Life

Part XXVIII: Trusting In Christ For The Precise Matching Of His Teaching With Biblical Revelation

(John 10:22-42)

 

I.                 Introduction

A.    John claimed Jesus was the "Word" (John 1:1), meaning Jesus was both God (John 1:1b) and the Word of God personified in the Scriptures [as in Revelation 19:11-16], Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to John 1:1.

B.     Thus, we should expect to see Jesus' teaching perfectly match the teachings of inspired Scripture, and John 10:22-42 presents this matching on several levels not only in His era, but in our era as well (as follows):

II.              Trusting In Christ For The Precise Matching Of His Teaching With Biblical Revelation, John 10:22-42.

A.    Jesus consistently relied on His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy that His miracles validated His claims to be Israel's Messiah, John 10:25, 31-32, 37-38 with 5:39 and Matthew 11:2-6 with Isaiah 35:4-6 and 61:1:

1.      In John 10:25, 31-32 and 37-38, Jesus three times directed those who questioned if He claimed to be the "Christ," that is, the "Messiah" (John 10:24 NIV), to have their question answered by recalling His works.

2.      These works Jesus observed in Matthew 11:2-6 included healing the blind, the lame, the leprous, the deaf and raising the dead along with the poor having the gospel preached unto them, and these works fulfilled passages like Isaiah 35:4-6 and 61:1 that signaled the presence of God's Messenger, John 3:2; 9:35-39.

B.     Jesus also CONSISTENTLY SUPPORTED or REFLECTED other key Biblical doctrines in John 10:22-38:

1.      Jesus consistently reflected the Biblical doctrine of unconditional salvation security, John 10:27-29:

                             a.         When Jesus said He gave His sheep eternal life (John 10:27-28a), He added, "they shall never perish" (John 10:28b), the word "never" rendering ou me (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 368) where the first adverb [ou "no"] is in the indicative mood and the second [me "no"] is in the subjunctive mood, and together they form an emphatic prohibition, Dana & Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek N. T., 1957, p. 266. 

                            b.         "This is one of the clearest statements in the Bible that one who believes in Jesus for salvation will never be lost," Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 311, a truth taught in Scriptures elsewhere like Ephesians 4:30.

2.      Jesus consistently supported the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity, John 10:30:

                             a.         When Jesus claimed He and the Father were "one," He did not say they were the same Person as in unitarianism, for then He would have used the Greek word heis, the masculine form for "one."  Rather, He used the neuter form, hen (Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T., p. 369; The Anal. Grk. Lex., 1972, p. 137) to reflect a composite unity of natures and actions as opposed to the same person, Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to John 10:30.

                            b.         As such, Jesus supported the view that He was distinct from the Father in Person opposite unitarianism, but one with Him as to Godhead opposite polytheism, thus supporting the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity as is taught elsewhere in the Scriptures [such as Matthew 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 13:14 and Psalm 110:1].

3.      Jesus consistently reflected the Biblical doctrine of the inerrancy of written Scripture, John 10:33-36:

                             a.         In John 10:33 when the Jewish leaders intended to stone Jesus, charging He as a man made Himself to be God, Jesus in John 10:34-36 replied that the Scriptures at Psalm 82:6 used the word elohim, the usual word for "God," to refer to men as judges [as in Ex. 21:6; 22:8], Ibid., B. K. C., N. T., p. 312.  Thus, Jesus said His critics could not technically charge Him with blasphemy for saying He was "God," Ibid.

                            b.         Jesus' argument is based on His supposition that the Psalm 82:6 Scripture "cannot be broken," that "no one could evade its force by saying an error was in the Scriptures," Ibid.  "This important text clearly points up the inerrancy of the Bible," Ibid., as is taught in 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Thessalonians 2:13 et al.

                             c.         Since Jesus' argument is also based on His use of a single word, the word elohim, Jesus held to the verbal inerrancy of written Scripture, that it is God inspired down to every word! (cf. Matthew 5:18)

C.     The religious leaders did not believe Jesus, and still tried to arrest Him, but He escaped and crossed over the Jordan River where many believed on Him both for His miraculous works and for the testimony of John about Him, John 10:39-42.  This contrasting acceptance by many exposed the sinful unbelief of Israel's leaders.

 

Lesson: Jesus as the Word of God personified consistently relied on Old Testament prophecy to certify His claims as the Messiah and Son of God while also consistently supporting or reflecting key Biblical doctrines such as unconditional salvation security, the Trinity and the inerrancy of written Scripture.

 

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ for consistently relying on Scripture to certify His claims as Messiah and God.  (2) May we also trust in Him as the Word of God in how He supported or reflected other key Bible doctrines.