Quote for the Day

“And in that place many believed in Jesus.”

Today's Prayer

Father, draw me unto your will and allow your face to shine upon me.

John 10:22-42

John 10:22-42 (NIV)22 Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”33 “We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken — 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. 38 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.

Message

This chapter gives us first the great example of Jesus as the Good Shepherd and then ends with a powerful conclusion, “And in that place many believed in Jesus.” From the man healed of blindness to the religious leaders of the day to each and every individual we all are faced with the same question, “Who is Jesus?” Why do we have to face this question? Simply stated, our eternity AND our life on earth depend on it. The barrier confronting the religious leaders of that day is the same that confronts each of us now. Our response to the statement of Jesus determines our future, both the immediate future and the long-term future – often referred to as eternity. A simple short verse, verse 30, is the declaration that divides believers even today, “I and the Father are one.” With this simple statement Jesus has declared himself God. We all have one choice in life: to believe or to reject. Many (but not all) of the religious rulers of the day rejected it, but as we see in verse 42, many others believed. In plain and simple words Jesus claims to be God. This is a place of rejoicing for those who believe, and a place of rejection for those who do not, but without question a place of decision-making for all.