The Wonderful Works of Our Lord
The Gospel of John
John 10:27-42
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - March 29, 2017
(Revised November 12, 2019)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to John 10, as we think about the wonderful works of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
*Verses 22-24 give us the immediate background for tonight's Scripture.
22. Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.
23. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.
24. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.''
*Last time, I mentioned that the Feast of Dedication wasn't one of the Feasts established by God in the Old Testament. That's because it didn't begin until after the Old Testament was completed, and it is still celebrated as Hanukkah today.
*The Feast of Dedication began in 164 B.C. to celebrate the rededication of the temple after the blasphemy and butchery of Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes. William Barclay explained that "this wicked king was a lover of all things Greek. Antiochus decided that he would eliminate the Jewish religion once and for all. He introduced Greek ways, thoughts, religion and gods into the nation.
*At first, Antiochus tried to do so by peaceful means, but in 170 B.C. he attacked Jerusalem. It was said that 80,000 Jews perished, and 80,000 more were sold into slavery. It became a death penalty offence to have a copy of the Word of God, or to circumcise a child. And mothers who did circumcise their children were crucified with their children hanging round their necks.
*The Temple courts were profaned. The Temple chambers were turned into brothels. Antiochus also took the dreadful step of turning God's great altar of the burnt offering into an altar for the Greek god Zeus. He commanded that swine flesh be offered to the pagan gods on the altar that belonged to the Lord.
*It was then that Judas Maccabaeus and his brother arose to fight their epic war for freedom. In 164 B.C. the struggle was finally won, and in that year the Temple was cleansed and purified." (1)
*That's why they started the Feast of the Dedication. It is usually celebrated in December, and John noted that it was winter, which was about four months before the cross. Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon's porch. Then the hateful Jewish leaders surrounded the Lord and began to pepper Him with questions. They were trying to goad Jesus into committing a death-penalty offence against God's Law.
*With this background in mind, let's read vs. 27-42, thinking about the wonderful works of our Lord.
MESSAGE:
*In these verses, Jesus focused on His unique and wonderful works.
1. SO, FIRST NOTICE THAT HIS WORKS ARE GOOD.
*The Lord made this truth clear, when He responded to the murderous Pharisees. In vs. 27-33, Jesus said:
27. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
30. I and My Father are one.''
31. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
32. Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?''
33. The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.''
*In vs. 33, even the Lord's worst enemies had to admit that He had done good works. They hated Jesus with the heat of a thousand suns. They even hated the Lord for His good works. But they had to admit them, because they had seen them with their own eyes.
*We see a good example of this fact that in Luke 6:6-11. There God's Word says:
6. Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.
7. And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.
8. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here.'' And he arose and stood.
9. Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?''
10. And looking around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand.'' And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
11. But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
*There is abundant biblical evidence of the Lord's good works. My favorite summary of His work is from Peter's sermon in Acts 10. In vs. 36-39, Peter said:
36. "The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ He is Lord of all
37. that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached:
38. how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
39. And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree."
*Evidence of Jesus' good work abounds. We find it in the Word of God, and we can find it in our own lives. One of Stanley Baldwin's examples is from when he was a little boy, and his family took a trip to the Pacific Coast.
*This was during World War II, and fear of a Japanese attack had led to a strict lights-out policy after dark. Stanley and his family stopped at a motel for the night. They decided to take a quick walk along the dark beach to get some fresh air. Little Stanley ran ahead of his parents and sister, and he came to a barricade wall blocking his way further.
*Like any other boy, he decided to climb the wall and explore the rest of the beach. But just as Stanley reached the top of the wall, his sister called out and stopped him. Then, in the blink of an eye, some soldiers drove up, with guns aimed right at the Baldwin family. The squad leader chewed them out and sent them back to the motel.
*The next morning, the family returned to the barricade wall to look at the beach. Imagine their horror when they looked over the wall and saw a 40-foot drop to the rocks below! If Stanley's sister hadn't called for him when she did, if the soldiers hadn't shown up when they did, Stanley probably would have jumped over that wall to certain death. (2)
*God was at work watching over Stanley Baldwin that night, and He is watching over us right now. Every true believer can look back and see the evidence of God's good work in our lives.
*We know about the good works of Jesus Christ! And even the Lord's enemies had to admit His good works, but we also see their accusation. In vs. 33: "The Jews answered Him, saying, 'For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.'''
*Their astounding accusation was: "Jesus, you are making yourself out to be more than just a man. You are claiming to be God!" And that would be a horrible thing for Jesus to do, unless it was true. Thank God! -- It is true!
*So, the people who try to say that Jesus was just a man, or just a good man couldn't be farther from the truth. The great Christian author C. S. Lewis wrote about this error in MERE CHRISTIANITY and said, "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus. That is: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.'
*That is one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of thing Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.
*You can shut Him up for a fool. You can spit at Him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." (3)
*As Christians, we know the truth: Jesus Christ is the Son of God! -- No wonder His works were good!
2. THE LORD'S WORKS ARE GOOD. AND THEY ARE GREAT.
*Verses 34-37 help us understand the greatness of His works. Here:
34. Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods'''?
35. If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
36. do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
37. If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me."
*How great are the Lord's works? -- So great that only God could do them! And as Jesus spoke to these Pharisees in vs. 35, He mentioned one of God's greatest works for us: The Word of God. Here Jesus tells us that God's Word, the Scripture "cannot be broken!" What a great testimony for the power and strength of God's Word!
*John Phillips gave this testimony: "Once again Jesus endorsed the sanctity of Scripture. 'The scripture cannot be broken,' He said. Down through the centuries many evil people have tried to break the Scriptures, -- but in vain.
*The Roman Emperor Diocletian harnessed the might of a world empire to get rid of the Bible. The atheist, philosopher Voltaire held up a copy of the Scriptures and boasted he would put the Bible in the morgue. Before long Voltaire was in the morgue, and the Geneva Bible Society used his house as a Bible warehouse.
*The Communists have done their best to reeducate generations of people, and have poured scorn on the Scriptures but they cannot destroy them. . . Modern liberals fill the minds of millions with their God-dishonoring, rationalistic theories about the Scriptures, but in vain. -- 'The scriptures cannot be broken.'" (4)
*One of God's greatest works for us is the Scripture! And in these verses, we can see how great the Lord's works are. All we have to do is compare the little "g" gods in vs. 34-37 with Almighty, big "G" God.
*Jesus was quoting Psalm 82 in these verses, and that very short Psalm says:
1. God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.
2. How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3. Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy.
4. Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.
5. They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable.
6. I said, "You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.
7. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.''
8. Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.
*The Lord God was specifically talking about rulers and judges in Psalm 82, and He called them little "g" gods because He selected them to represent Him and bring His righteousness to His earth. In a certain sense, all men are little "g" gods, because we were created in the image of God, we have awareness, a will, and some control over our lives.
*But what do we see when we compare us to the real God? Well, we are sinful and selfish. Again, Psalm 82:1-2 tells us, "God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?"
*We little "g" gods are sinful and selfish. We are also dying. Hear the Lord again in Psalm 82:6-7: "I said, 'You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.'''
*We little "g" gods are sinful, selfish, and dying. But Psalm 82:8 says: "Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations." That verse was talking about the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.
*No wonder then, here in John 10:35-38 Jesus said:
35. "If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
36. do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
37. If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
38. but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.''
*We little "g" gods are sinful, selfish, and dying. But our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is sanctified, sent, and divine! What a difference! Jesus was doing the great works of His Father. And He is still doing them today!
*Brent Zastrow told the story of a boy named Mikey. When he was 6, Mikey went fishing one Saturday with his dad. They were fishing near a bridge by the Kokomo Reservoir in Indiana.
*Suddenly, a woman lost control of her car, slid off the bridge, and hit Mikey going about 50 mph. Sheriff Marr was the boy's grandfather. He had seen the results of accidents like that and feared the worst. But when he got to the hospital, Mikey was conscious and in fairly good spirits.
*"Mikey, what happened?" Sheriff Marr asked. Mikey replied, "Well, Gramps, I was fishin' with Dad, and some lady runned me over. I flew into a mud puddle, and broke my fishin' pole and I didn't get to catch no fish!"
*The impact had thrown Mikey over some trees and into the middle of a mud puddle. His only injury was that his right leg broken in 2 places.
*The next day the Sheriff sat with Mikey to keep him company in the hospital. And when they were alone, Mikey said, "Gramps, did you know Jesus is real?" "Well," the Sheriff replied, a little startled. "Yes, Jesus is real to all who believe in Him and love Him in their hearts."
*"No," Mikey said. "I mean Jesus is REALLY real." "What do you mean?" asked his grandfather. Mikey said: "I know He's real 'cause I saw Him.
*"You did?" said the Sheriff. "Yep," said Mikey. "When that lady runned me over and broke my fishing pole, Jesus caught me in his arms and laid me down in the mud puddle." (5)
*Wow. -- There's no doubt that the Lord could do that easily! And He is doing bigger things in this world every single day
3. HIS WORKS ARE GREAT! AND THEY ARE A GUARANTEE.
*That's what the Lord tells us in vs. 37-38, where He said:
37. "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
38. but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.''
*Jesus' works are a guarantee of who He is and what He can do. His works are a guarantee, and this is supremely true when it comes to the work the Lord did on the cross for us. Jesus died to pay the price for our sins, and when He died that debt was paid in full!
*Three days later Jesus rose again form the dead, and His resurrection guarantees that He can give us eternal life with Him in Heaven. That's why in Romans 5:8-10, Paul could write that:
8. . . God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
4. THE LORD'S WORKS ARE A GUARANTEE. AND THEY ARE GRACIOUS.
*Verses 37-39 make this truth clear, because here Jesus said:
37. "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
38. but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.''
39. Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.
*The Pharisees were so full of stubborn self-righteousness and pride that they totally rejected the only Savior of the world. Back up in vs. 31, they even took up stones to kill Jesus. But even while the rocks were in their hands, the Lord was still trying to persuade them, still trying to save them.
*That's the kind of gracious, sacrificial love Jesus has for you and for me. But we have to respond to the grace of God, and that's what we see happening in vs. vs. 40-42.
*Here Jesus:
40. . . went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.
41. Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.''
42. And many believed in Him there.
*Most of the rulers rejected Jesus. But many people "came to Him," or "resorted unto Him" the KJV says. They went to Jesus to find real rest. They found eternal rest and refreshment for their lives because they believed in Jesus!
*And you can find the Lord's rest too! But Christians: Notice John the Baptist's important role here. John the Baptist never performed miraculous works, but he prepared the way for the Lord in people's hearts. And how did John do that? He simply told the truth about Jesus Christ.
*That's exactly what God wants us to do. And just like John the Baptist, we will never fully see all the good God did through us until we get to Heaven. Never underestimate what God can do through you when you simply tell the truth about our gracious Savior!
CONCLUSION:
*And that's the kind of Savior we have! -- Our crucified and risen Savior Jesus Christ. His works are good, great, guaranteed, and gracious forever! Praise the Lord! As we go back to God in prayer, praise the Lord!
(1) Sources:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Judas-Maccabeus.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/Antiochus-Epiphanes.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphanes
Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT) - Copyright Statement: These files are public domain. Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission. Bibliography Information: Barclay, William. "Commentary on Acts 3:4". "William Barclay's Daily Study Bible". http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dsb/acts-3.html. 1956-1959 - THE CLAIM AND THE PROMISE - John 10:22-28
(2) Stanley C. Baldwin, "What Did Jesus Say About That?" - Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1975 - pp. 175-176
(3) Adapted from C. S. Lewis, MERE CHRISTIANITY, pp. 55-56
(4) EXPLORING THE GOSPELS: JOHN by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "His Deity in Focus" - John 10:22-42
(5) Adapted from SermonCentral illustration contributed by Brent Zastrow - Topic: Miracles
