The Gospel of John – Portrait of Christ

Class 5

CHAPTER 10

The Good Shepherd Discourse

• This is a continuation of the controversy involving Jesus healing of the man born blind. John 10:21 Others were saying, "These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?"
• The Bible makes frequent use of this analogy. Many of the great men of the Old Testament were shepherds (e.g., Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David).

• Jesus identifies himself as “The Good Shepherd” in contrast to those evil shepherds rebuked by the Lord in (SEE)Ezekiel 34:1-4
• Robert Deffinbaugh writes, “Our Lord describes a typical pastoral scene that is familiar to all in His audience. Many of the Israelites were sheep herders (see Genesis 46:31-34). In any city or village, there would be a number of flocks of sheep. For convenience, they would all be herded into a common sheepfold, a simple enclosure where the sheep could be contained, while thieves and predators would be forbidden access. There would be but one door, one access through which the sheep would enter and exit. Through this same door the various shepherds would enter to gather their flocks. Early in the morning, the shepherd arrives at the sheepfold and enters to lead his flock out to pasture. Then, at the end of the day, he (or she—I have seen many a girl or young woman herding sheep in the East) brings his sheep into the sheepfold for safekeeping through the night. One person is assigned as the doorkeeper. Perhaps this duty is shared among the shepherds on a rotating basis. The doorkeeper stations himself in the doorway, keeping the sheep safely inside and any danger to the sheep outside. In the morning, each shepherd reports to the doorkeeper, who recognizes him and lets him into the sheepfold. Once inside the fold, each shepherd calls out his own sheep and leads them outside the fold. Knowing the voice of their shepherd, the sheep of each flock go to their own shepherd when called by name, and then they follow him outside the sheepfold, only to be brought safely back to the fold in the evening.
• Tenny - In the discourse five or six classes of people were described. The shepherd was Jesus Himself, as He declared plainly (11). The “porter” or doorkeeper (3), who opened the way for Him may not be identified with any particular principle or person, but simply completed the normal picture of the sheepfold.⁴’ The “thieves and robbers” (1) corresponded to the pseudo- Messiahs of whom there had already been a large number.⁴² The “strangers” (5) may have been the same as the thieves and robbers, or any persons who assumed leadership without pretending to be a Messiah. The sheep represented the Lord’s people, who hear His voice and follow Him (27). The hireling (12) should be distinguished from the thieves and robbers, since he entered the fold as an authorized agent rather than as a marauder, and since he is condemned for cowardice and selfishness rather than for wanton attack on the sheep. By these metaphors Jesus evaluated the religious life and history of Israel.
• HENDRIKSEN -. Notice: in the capacity of good shepherd Jesus:

1. Enters by the door and is welcomed by the door-keeper (10:3).

2. Calls the sheep by name (10:3); knows them thoroughly (10:14, 15; cf. 10:27, 28).

3. Leads them out (10:3).

4. Goes on ahead of the sheep (10:4).

5. Is recognized and followed by the sheep (“they know his voice”)

(10:3, 4).

6. Furnishes access to every blessing (10:7-9); is “the door.”

7. Provides life and abundance (10:10; cf. 10:27, 28).

8. Lays down his life for the sheep (10:11, 14).

9. Guides his sheep (cf. 10:4), gathering also other sheep, so that all become one flock with one shepherd (10:16).

10. Is loved by the Father (10:17).

· The Sheep (Tenny)

They recognize the voice of the shepherd. 3

They follow the shepherd. 4

They refuse to follow strangers. 5, 8

Their safety and sustenance is in the shepherd. 9

They are not all of one fold. 10

· (BKC) - 10:19-21. For the third time Jesus’ teaching divided the people (cf. 7:43; 9:16). Many in this hostile crowd judged Him to be demon-possessed and raving mad (cf. 7:20; 8:48, 52). But others figured that He was not demon-possessed, for how could a demon open the eyes of the blind? (cf. 9:16)

The Final Discourse with the Crowd (10:22-42)

· The time is in the winter (Dec), nowadays called Hanukah – feast commemorating the victory of Julius Macabeus in 165 BC over the Syrian king Antiochus IV.

· It has been two months since his last confrontation with the Jewish leaders.

· (BKC) The Jews gathered around Him. Actually they “closed in (ekykloôsan) on Him.”
The hostile Jerusalem leaders were determined to pin Him down so they surrounded
Him. His enigmatic sayings plagued them, and they wanted Him to declare Himself on
their terms. How long will You keep us in suspense? they asked. “Keep us in suspense”
is literally “hold up our soul.” They insisted, if You are the Christ, tell us plainly.

· John 10:25 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.

· Jesus responded that the miracles (lit., “works”; cf. vv. 32, 38) He had done are clear evidence that He is from the Father (cf. Isa. 35:3-6; John 3:2; 9:32-33). He is the One the Father sent, but He did not match their expectations. He was no Judas Maccabeus.

· 10:27. Jesus’ flock is responsive to His teaching. They listen to His voice (vv. 3-5, 16). They have an intimacy with Jesus (I know them; cf. vv. 3, 14), they understand His message of salvation, and they follow Him (vv. 4-5). To follow Him means to obey the Father’s will as Jesus did.

· Verses 28-29 -This is one of the clearest statements in the Bible that one who believes in Jesus for salvation will never be lost.

From Hendriksen’s Commentary on John

Predestinating Love

“I sing the gracious, fixed decree

Passed by the great, eternal Three,

The counsel held in heaven above,

The Lord’s predestinating love.

“All that concerns the chosen race

In nature, history, or grace:

Where they shall dwell, and when remove

Fixed by predestinating love.

“Their calling, growth and robes they wear;

Their conflict, trials, daily care

Are for them well arranged above

In God’s predestinating love.

“In this let Zion’s sons rejoice:

Their God will not revoke his choice;

Nor sin nor death nor hell can move

His firm predestinating love.

“This is our bulwark of defense;

Nor foe nor friend can drive us hence.

In life, in death, in realms above

We’ll sing predestinating love.”

· Verse 30 - When Jesus said, I and the Father are One, He was not affirming that He and the Father are the same Person. The Son and the Father are two Persons in the Trinity. This is confirmed here by the fact that the word “One” is neuter. Instead, He was saying They have the closest possible unity of purpose. Jesus’ will is identical to the Father’s regarding the salvation of His sheep.

· Verses 31-33 For which good work done by the Father would they stone him….courage…They said because he had claimed equality with God

· Verse 34- “You are gods” – See Psalm 82:1-6 (BKC) God warned the wicked judges that they will perish. He had appointed them as “gods” (cf. v. 1) and as sons of the Most High, His representatives on earth.

· Verse 35 – 43 The mixed response – some tried to kill him, others believe.

CHAPTER 11

The Raising of Lazarus

Verses 1-4 - Mary and Martha send an urgent message to Jesus regarding the critical condition of their brother Lazarus – Jesus does not go immediately. But says, John 11:4

But when Jesus heard it, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it."

Recognizing the Peril (5-16)

Verses 5-16 – The disciples and Jesus recognize the peril of going to Bethany. Jesus points out the real issue. In the spiritual realm when one lives by the will of God he is safe. Living in the realm of evil is dangerous. As long as He followed God’s plan, no harm would come till the appointed time.

Jesus knows that Lazarus is dead…As he tells them this Thomas says (Verse 16)

"Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

The Conditions (17-20)

Martha’s Expectations (21-27) She has faith in a coming resurrection…but not now…

Verse 25 - I am the Resurrection and the Life. This is the fifth of Jesus’ great “I am” revelations. The Resurrection and the Life of the new Age is present right now because Jesus is the Lord of life

Mary’s Fears (28-37) – She has true faith but limited faith - John 11:33

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled, Jesus was troubled (etaraxen, lit., “stirred” or “agitated,”

The Miracle (11:38-44)

Jesus calls out to Lazarus and he comes back to life out of the tomb –

Warfield writes, When Christ stood at the door of Lazarus’ tomb and cried, “Lazarus come forth!” only Lazarus, of all the dead that lay in the gloom of the grave that day in Palestine, or throughout the world, heard his mighty voice which raises the dead, and came forth. Shall we say that the election of Lazarus to be called forth from the tomb consigned all this immense multitude of the dead to hopeless, physical decay? It left them no doubt in the death in which they were holden and to all that comes out of this death. But it was not it which brought death upon them, or which kept them in its power. When God calls out of the human race, lying dead in their trespasses and sins, some here, some there, some everywhere, a great multitude which no man can number, to raise them by His almighty grace out of their death in sin and bring them to glory, his electing grace is glorified in the salvation it works. It has nothing to do with the death of the sinner, but only with the living again of the sinner whom it calls into life. The one and single work of election is salvation.

In chapter 10:24-25 the Jews surrounded him and demanded that he no longer keep them in suspense……By raising Lazarus, Jesus more than proved that he was the Messiah.

Verses 45-57 A Four Fold Result – Passover Plot -

Hendriksen - A fourfold effect is either clearly implied or definitely recorded: (1) The miracle caused many of the Jews, who had previously been unfriendly to Jesus, to come to believe in him (11:45). (2) It added to the bitterness of his enemies, who now, in an official Sanhedrin-session, began to plot his death (11:46-54; cf. verse 57). See Preliminary Remarks. (3) It caused great excitement among the Passover-crowds at Jerusalem (11:55-57). (4) It strengthened the faith of Mary and Martha and of the disciples (except Judas, of course, who had none; cf. 12:4).

John 11:54 Jesus therefore no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

Jesus. Previously (2:13-25) had attended the national festivals during which time He publicly taught in the temple area. Would He continue this pattern of ministry?

CHAPTER 12

This marks the period of Crisis. The unbelief and hostility of Jesus’ enemies had reached a point that lead directly to his arrest and crucifixion.

The Anointing (12:1-8)

Verse 3 – Mary takes - pure nard was fragrant oil prepared from the roots and stems of an aromatic herb from northern India. It was an expensive perfume, imported in sealed alabaster boxes or flasks which were opened only on special occasions.

The house was filled with the fragrance.

Verse 4 – 5 Judas Iscariot… objected to this lavish waste (in his viewpoint). His objection—that money from the sale of the perfume

Verse 6 - udas, evidently the group’s treasurer (SEE- . 13:29), would pocket some of the benevolence money for himself.

Anointing was in anticipation of His burial.

The Triumphant Entry (Verses 9-19)

Hendriksen - 1. Jesus by means of his Triumphal Entry definitely indicates that he lays down his life; i.e., that he dies voluntarily. He takes matters into his own hands. He is forcing the issue. He deliberately plans a demonstration, fully realizing that, as a result, the enthusiasm of the masses will enrage the hostile leaders at Jerusalem to such a degree that they will desire more intensely than ever to carry out their plot against him.

2. Jesus forces the members of the Sanhedrin to change their time-table (with respect to his execution) so that it will harmonize with his (and with the Father’s) time-table. Originally it had not been the plan of the Sanhedrin to put Jesus to death at this particular time. But the excitement over Jesus aroused by the Triumphal Entry was one of the factors which, considered from the human point of view, hastened the crisis.

3. Jesus sets himself forth as the Messiah.

By means of this Triumphal Entry he fulfils the Messianic prophecy of Zech. 9:9. Moreover, when the multitudes hail him as the Messiah, he does not in any way deny the clear implication of their Hosannas. See Matthew 21:9 and Psalm 118:26

John 12:19 The Pharisees therefore said to one another, "You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him."

The Greeks at the Feast (20-36)

(BKC) - The mention of Greeks is significant. They were the wanderers of the ancient world and the seekers of truth. These Greeks were probably God-fearers who attended Jewish synagogues and feasts.

Seek an audience with Jesus – A sign that the time had come for Jesus at last.

John 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, the hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

12:25-26. The wheat analogy (v. 24) illustrates a general paradoxical principle: death is the way to life. In Jesus’ case, His death led to glory and life not only for Himself but also for others.

12:27-28a. Jesus instructed His disciples on the cost of commitment to the Father’s
will by disclosing His emotions. He was in turmoil (tetaraktai, “stirred, agitated”;
cf. 11:33; 14:1) because of the prospect of being made sin (2 Cor. 5:21) in His death. In
view of His turmoil, should He shrink back and ask for deliverance from this hour?

12:28b-29. The Father then spoke from heaven in a thunderous voice, confirming His working in Jesus both in the past and in the future. The voice was audible but not all understood it (cf. v 30; Acts 9:7; 22:9).

12:32-33. Jesus’ words, when I am lifted up from the earth, refer not to His Ascension but to His crucifixion (cf. 3:14; 8:28). He knew how He would die—by being “lifted up” on a cross. Jews, however, normally stoned those they considered worthy of death (cf. Stephen’s death, Acts 7:58-60).

John’s Explanation (37-43)

John 12:37 But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him;

Arthur Pink writes quoting (Bishop Ryle). - "The prevalence of unbelief and indifference in the present day ought not to surprise us. It is just one of the evidences of that mighty foundation-doctrine, the total corruption and fall of man. How feebly we grasp and realize that doctrine is proved by our surprise at human incredulity. We only half believe the heart’s deceitfulness. Let us read our Bibles more attentively, and search their contents more carefully. Even when Christ wrought miracles and preached sermons there were numbers of His hearers who remained utterly unmoved. What right have we to wonder if the hearers of modern sermons in countless instances remain unbelieving? ‘The disciple is not greater than his Master.’ If even the hearers of Christ did not believe, how much more should we expect to find unbelief among the hearers of His ministers? Let the truth be spoken and confessed: man’s obstinate unbelief is one among many of the indirect proofs that the Bible is true"

12:42-43. yet some believed…

Jesus’ Exhortation (12:44-50)

Deffinbaugh - His message is clear and concise. He has come from God, and He speaks for God (verses 49-50). His words are God’s commandment, and this commandment is the means to eternal life (verses 49-50). To believe in the word of Jesus is to believe in the Father; to see Jesus is to see the Father (verses 44-45). If one believes in Jesus, he obeys His words. If one does not believe in the words of Jesus, he disobeys the commandment of God and fails to enter into eternal life. Instead, the words of Jesus become the basis of the unbeliever’s eternal judgment.