So SHBC family…how are you doing with your 21-day commitment? Today marks the just-over-half-way point of your commitment to pray, fast intermittently, and meditate on John’s gospel in preparation for intentionally sharing your faith with (and inviting to church) three people that you believe are unsaved. Are you beginning to get the sense that constant prayer for the lost is difficult work? It really is a discipline that must be developed over time! I dare say that some of you have missed a day or two by this point; I know it’s been a struggle even for me to remember my commitment to this day to day! First, when you miss, I hope you’ll get back up and recommit, but secondly, I hope this project serves to remind us that kingdom-work and spiritual warfare is actually hard work! It does require discipline. It does require time commitment. It does require sacrifice. And these reasons are exactly why so many today simply don’t want to get involved! In a world where time is at a premium and individuals have to prioritize among so many choices, it seems that daily cross-bearing just gets shoved aside for the many other activities that matter more to us. Personally, I think that says something very sad about our priorities. But alas…
In reading John 10 yesterday, I hope that you picked up on the “I AM” emphasis once again. Jesus emphasized this language in chapters 6 and 8 and does so again in chapter 10, where he refers to himself by saying “I am the door,” and “I am the good shepherd” (referencing OT language in Is 40:11, Jer 23:1-4, and Ezekiel 34, among others). We can characterize the “I Am” statements of Jesus in John into two camps, first, those absolute statements in which he refers to himself as “I Am” (6:20; 8:24, 28, 58; 18:5). In these, Jesus is identifying himself with the self-revelation of YHWH in Exodus 3:14. Secondly though, there are the metaphorical “I Am” statements which appear throughout the book. There are a total of 7 different “I Am” metaphorical statements, all of which point to profound spiritual realities about the person and office of Jesus, the Christ (e.g. the bread of life; the light of the world; the door of the sheep; the good shepherd; the resurrection and the life; the way, the truth and the life; the true vine) and all of which are grounded in old testament language and images which the Jews would have associated directly with the LORD.
Don’t miss these “I Am” statements; they are one of the keys to John’s emphasis, structure and style and they tell us significant information about Jesus and his own self-identity to others.
Did you notice again in chapter 10, the exchange between Jesus and the Jews in verses 22- 42? Did you pick up on v. 33, in which John tells us that the Jews were ready to stone Jesus for blasphemy because He, being a man, made himself God? Even though many Jews in this passage didn’t accept Jesus’ words (many did according to 42), it is apparent that they understood him clearly enough. Through his “I Am” statements and the repeated reference to his intimate relationship with the Father, the Jews picked up on the fact that Jesus was claiming to be divine. This fact flies in the face of much of modern liberal Christian thinking which claims that “the early church created the divine Jesus” or that “Jesus never himself claimed to be God, but that was added later by others.” Modern philosophers and students of religion attempt to put Jesus on par with other religious figures throughout history, but the facts just don’t add up. Here he is claiming to be God and the Jews are ready to stone him over it. Either he was or he wasn’t or he was just a raving lunatic. You have to do something with these and other texts though (notably 8:24), because they do say something profound about Jesus’ claims.
I choose to believe that he is the divine Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior. What do you believe about Jesus’ identity? What do your lost family and friends believe about Him? Do they even know who Jesus is? Do they know about his claims concerning himself? Do they only believe that Jesus is a good man or an enlightened teacher? May God help us to make his true identity known to the world!
More to come later on chapter 11…
