He Will Hold You Fast

Transcript

Good morning. If we’ve not had the chance to meet, my name is Thomas and I serve as one of the pastors. I’d love to get to know you, so feel free to come and find me at the end of the service. I’ll be in the back there. Family, if you would please turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of John, chapter 10. This morning we’ll be looking at verses 22 through 42. John chapter 10, verse 22 through 42. Pastor Andre, where are you, brother? Brother, thank you for your prayer this morning. Yeah, I think you were praying the heartbeat of our souls this morning, so thank you, brother.

At that time, the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter and Jesus was walking in the temple in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, how long will you keep us in suspense?

— John 10

(ESV)

If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.

— John 10

(ESV)

The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from the Father, for which of them are you going to stone me? The Jews answered him, it is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for

blasphemy because you, being a man, make yourself God. Jesus answered them, is it not written in your law, I said you are gods? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came and scripture cannot be broken, do you say of him who the Father consecrated and sent into the world, you are blaspheming? Because I said I am the Son of God. If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father. Then they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. And many came to him, and they said, John did no sign, but everything that John said

about this man was true, and many believed him there. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us pray. Our Father and our God, we ask now for the help of the Holy Spirit to hear from you, to be comforted from your word, to be conformed into the image of our shepherd. For we recognize that in order for us to hear what you have to say to us this morning, you have to give us ears to hear the voice of our Good Shepherd. And so we pray even now that you would open our ears, and most importantly, open up our heart to the truth of your word. We pray these things in Jesus’ name, amen. Imagine for a moment a father and his little child climbing up a steep mountain trail in the gorge, when suddenly they come across the most difficult part of the trail.

Who Is He?

The rocks in this section are very loose, the drop-off is sharp, and just one wrong step could send the child tumbling down the side. The father has two options. He could say, son, this is the most dangerous part of the trail. People slip here all the time, so be careful. Watch your step and whatever you do, don’t slip. That’s one way to deal with the danger. But there’s another way. The father could bend down and say, son, this part of the trail is very dangerous. You need to stay close and vigilant. And then he can take his child’s little hand into his own and wrap it so tightly that no matter how much the child stumbles, no matter how weak the child’s grip, no matter how clumsy their steps, there is simply no way the child could fall from his grasp. That changes everything for the child.

On the one hand, he could walk that part of the dangerous trail nervously, afraid he might slip, terrified that one misstep would be the end. Or if the father had his hand, he could walk with peace. He could walk with confidence and joy because he knows his safety isn’t about his grip. It’s about his father’s grip. The very fact that the father has his hands reveals to the son that his father will keep him secure and safe. And family, this is a bit of what we see in our passage this morning in John 10. Jesus says, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. And you understand what this means. It means for those who are in the grip of God’s grace, we have eternal security.

This passage provides one of the greatest comforts for the Christian living in a very dark and dangerous world. But as comforting as this passage is for Christians, there is a tension in this passage. Not everyone has this grip. Not everyone desires that kind of grip. For some, a grip that would keep them from danger feels far too constraining and even condescending. For many, it threatens their sense of self-sufficiency and autonomy. For others, it’s just simply offensive. The very thought that someone else has to hold their life causes for them to react in prideful rebellion. And we see some of that in our passage this morning in John 10. There are some in pride who surround Jesus with questions. Some who are so filled with hatred that they not only accuse Him of blasphemy, but they pick up stones to kill Him. But what we also see in this passage are those in His grip who hear His voice and believe

because they recognize that without His grip, they most certainly will fall. So the question of this passage isn’t simply, is Jesus the Christ? The most important question is, do you trust in God’s grip? Do you hear His voice? Do you belong to His flock? And to help us see this and move through our text, I’ve divided this passage into four questions that not only confronted the people in Jesus’ day, but still confront every single one of us today. And those questions are, who is He? Who are His? What has He done? And how will you respond? So let’s begin with the first question, who is He? Let’s look at the first verses, 22 through 24. At that time, the feast of dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter and Jesus was walking in the temple in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around Him and said to Him, how long will you keep us in suspense?

If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Right out of the gate, John sets this scene with a clue about the identity of Jesus. And that clue comes by way of the feast and the location. John explains that Jesus is in the feast or at the feast of dedication. And that feast is what we have come to know today as Hanukkah. Now this feast wasn’t one of the feasts commanded in the Old Testament, the ones we’ve been looking at over the last few months or so. This feast came much later. Now I want to just provide you a bit of context for this feast because I think it will help us get a better grasp as to what’s going on here. In roughly 167 BC, this is about 200 years before Jesus steps into our scene this morning, a foreign ruler named Antiochus invaded Jerusalem and took it over.

This man actually gave himself the name Antiochus Epiphanes, which means God manifest. That’s what he wanted the people to call him. God manifest, the God made visible, the appearance of God on earth. But the Jews obviously wouldn’t call him that. So they mockingly nicknamed him Antiochus Epimanes. You see the wordplay Epiphanes, Epiphanes, and really that’s translated the madman. So the Jews gave it to him. This Antiochus didn’t want to just rule the city. He wanted to eradicate the Jewish faith altogether. And so in his reign, he outlawed the scriptures. He made it illegal to practice circumcision and he banned the worship of the God of Israel. And then in a move that cut the Jewish people to their heart, he desecrated God’s holy temple, the most sacred place for the Jews. He set up an altar to a pagan God right inside of it.

And to make things worse, he sacrificed pigs, which, if you know, was considered unclean to the Jewish law. And he did this on God’s altar. For the Jewish people in that time, it was more than just political oppression. It was spiritual devastation. The place that was supposed to be holy had been grossly desecrated. The place where God’s presence dwelled had been defiled. This was one of the most darkest moments in Israel’s history. But in the midst of this desecration, God raised up a deliverer, a man named Judas Maccabeus, also known as Judas the Hammer. It’s an interesting name. The Hammer and his followers rose up and eventually defeated Antiochus’ forces and then reclaimed the temple, cleansed the altar, rededicated it to the Lord, and as a result, they celebrated or feasted for eight days straight. And that became the Feast of Dedication, rededicating the temple to the Lord.

Hanukkah, a yearly reminder of God’s deliverance and the hope of renewal from the pagan oppressor Antiochus. So with that in mind, imagine the scene. The people are gathered in Jerusalem celebrating their deliverance from a false God manifest, Antiochus Epiphanes, when into the temple courts walks in not another Judas the Hammer, but Jesus the Shepherd, the true God manifest, not a warrior who came to crush Rome, but the Son of God who came to lay down his life for the sheep. And right there in the middle of that feast, another confrontation over identity begins. John says the leaders surrounded him and that word suggests kind of circling around him like a pack of wolves surrounding its prey. So to be clear, this isn’t curiosity. This is confrontation concerning his identity. And they press in with this demand. We see it in verse 24, how long would you keep us in suspense?

If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. What’s crazy about this question is that Jesus had already told them who he was. He told them with his words and he had shown them with his works. The blind received sight, the lame walked, the deaf heard and the dead were raised. What more clarity would they need concerning Jesus’ identity? And as we’ve seen over and over again, the problem wasn’t that Jesus was unclear. The problem was that they didn’t want that kind of Messiah. You see, they were looking for another Judas Maccabeus, another hammer to smash Rome. But Jesus came not swinging hammers, but as a suffering servant, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. So their question, who are you, tell us plainly, really exposes their issue. They don’t really want to know who he is. They want him to fit in their religious and political agenda, into their expectations.

They wanted a Christ of their own making, not the Christ God has sent. This isn’t any different from today. The same question, who is he, isn’t just their question, it’s ours too. Because if we’re honest, our world loves the idea of Jesus, but our world doesn’t love him as he really is. Some want Jesus the social disruptor, the Messiah who came to destroy all the so-called oppressors in our world and liberate us from the tyranny of Western civilization and capitalism. Some want Jesus the political figure, a Messiah who rallies to their side, who carries their party to victory and baptizes their agenda. Others want Jesus the therapist, a Messiah who never confronts, but only affirms, who makes you feel better about yourself, but never actually calls you to repentance. Or some simply want Jesus the universal spiritual mascot of enlightenment, a Messiah they can

slap on their bumper sticker, wear on their necklace, quote on their Instagram, or use as decoration for their own version of spirituality. But none of those things are the real Jesus. That’s the world making him into our image instead of receiving him as he has revealed himself. That’s us building the Christ we want instead of bowing before the Christ God has sent. And here’s the danger in doing that. If you try to make Jesus into your own kind of Messiah, you will end up rejecting him just like they did. So the real question is not, is he the Christ? But rather, will you take this Christ on his terms? Will you hear him as he has revealed himself? Will you receive him not as the Christ you want, but as the Christ you so desperately need? And so the answer to this first question is inescapably clear.

Who Are His?

He is the true Messiah, the son of God, the savior of the world. And then Jesus flips the focus because the question isn’t only about our identity, or his identity, it’s about ours. If he really is the Christ, then who actually belongs to him? And this leads us to the second question, who are his? Let’s look at verses 25 through 31. Jesus answered them, I told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them

out of the father’s hands. I and the father are one. The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Now notice what Jesus does here. He doesn’t answer their demand the way they want. Instead, he points back to what he’s already said and what he’s already done. His words and his works have already made his identity very clear. But the reason why they won’t believe isn’t a lack of evidence, it’s a lack of belonging. He says in verse 26, you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. In other words, the problem isn’t in his clarity, it’s with their hardened hearts. They don’t recognize his voice because they don’t belong to him. And then Jesus contrasts them with his true sheep. Look at verse 27, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Family, this is the distinguishing feature of those who belong to Jesus.

This is what separates professing Christ from possessing Christ. They hear him, they are known by him, and they follow him. Now just to clarify what that means. To hear his voice means more than just listening to his words. It means recognizing him and responding to him, trusting in him by faith. And to be known by him is even deeper. It’s not just that sheep know the shepherd, but that the shepherd knows the sheep. He knows their names. He knows their weaknesses. He knows their struggles, their fears, and he claims them as his own. And to follow him means obedience. It means you don’t just hear his voice come in one ear and then fly out the other. It means you trust him enough to go where he leads and to do what he says. This is where so many people in our world misunderstand what it means to be a follower

of Jesus or a Christian. You see, for some, Christianity is all about heritage. I grew up in the church. I was raised as a Christian. I went to Sunday school and everything. And so of course I’m a Christian. For others, it’s all about feelings. I feel close to God. I know deep down in my heart that God loves me, and so I must belong to him. For some, it’s about attendance. I go to church. I sing all the songs loudly. I even serve. And for many, it’s simply about morality. I’m a good person. I follow most of the rules that the Bible talks about. But Jesus doesn’t say, my sheep have Christian parents. He doesn’t say my sheep feel spiritual sometimes. He doesn’t say my sheep attend religious events or even my sheep do good works. He says my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

They hear, they trust, and they obey. That’s the mark. That’s the evidence of belonging. True Christians hear him, not just his words, but his word. You understand the difference, right? A lot of people read the Bible. A lot of people can quote the words of Jesus, most of the time out of context. Some people will even express an affinity for the words of Jesus like they do Gandhi. And when it comes to submitting your life under the authority of every single word of God, they won’t do it. They cherry pick the words that are convenient for them. Because deep down inside, they don’t actually believe that his word, the word, meaning the final authority, has any influence over their life. Real sheep know him and are known by him, not just general religion, but personal relationship. And they follow him, listen, not perfectly, but persistently, trusting him enough to

go wherever he leads. Here is the exclusive encouragement for the ones who hear him, for the ones who are known by him, and the ones who follow him. They are in every way safe and secure. Look at what Jesus says in verses 28 and 29. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. So belonging to Jesus is not about feelings or performance. It’s about hearing his voice and being claimed by him and following him. And those who belong to him are held in a grip that is so strong that nothing in all creation can break it. Think about that reality for a second. Nothing, nothing can snatch you out of the hands of your good shepherd. Eternal life isn’t something we earn. It’s not something we achieve. It’s a gift Jesus gives to his sheep.

I give them eternal life. Not good job, you’ve earned eternal life. And that gift comes with an unbreakable guarantee. They will never perish. And in case you missed it, Jesus double downs on this reality. In verse 29, he says, my father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the father’s hand. This begs the question, whose hand are we in? Are we in Jesus’s hand or are we in the father’s hand? Well, the answer, family, is both. It’s a double grip, which means double security. It means you can bank on it. You are held in the hand of the son and you are held in the hand of the father. The reason you’re held by both is because they are one. Verse 30, Jesus makes this unmistakably clear, I and the father are one.

Dear Christian, do you see the comfort in this? Your security is not in your grip on him, but in his grip on you. Salvation is not about how tightly you can hold on to Jesus, but how tightly Jesus holds on to you. If it were up to us, every single one of us would let go a thousand times, a million times. If it depends on your strength, your resolve, your faithfulness, your good works, we would all fall short. We would be doomed. Just think about your last week. This is why Jesus’s words here are so wonderful. He holds us. Family, his sovereign grip and security in salvation, they are not meant to feel like a straitjacket that keeps us from freedom. His grip is meant to feel like a life jacket, something that keeps us afloat when the waters of doubt, suffering and fear or temptation rise.

Just think about the difference. There are so many Christians in our world who live under this kind of constant, low-grade anxiety, believing that salvation depends on them keeping up their end of the deal. Did I do enough? Did I pray enough? Did I read my Bible enough? Did I tell enough co-workers about Jesus? Am I holding on tightly enough? That kind of thinking, family, only produces fear and anxiety because salvation ultimately rests on our grip. Then it takes all the, all it takes is just one slip of the hand, one season of weakness, one moment of failure and we’d be lost forever. That’s a horrible reality. Dear Christian, if that’s your tendency, hear these words from Jesus, I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. His gift is His grip and you are eternally safe.

That’s the difference between living in fear of losing your salvation and living with the assurance of salvation. If you think it’s all about your grip, you will walk the Christian life nervously, always afraid you might slip. But if you know it’s about His grip, you can walk in peace. You can walk in confidence. You can walk in joy. Because the whole point of His words here is that Jesus doesn’t just call His sheep, He keeps His sheep. When He says they will never perish, that’s a promise, an unbreakable promise to His sheep. And the Father who gave them to Him is greater than every threat this world throws at us. Which means the hand that holds you is not only tender, but it’s so tight that it’s inescapable and unbreakable no matter how dark and how dangerous our world can be. Over the last week we’ve been confronted again with the undeniable reality that we

live in a very wicked world. We don’t just have to speculate anymore. We don’t even have to use our imagination. We see it with our own eyes. Our news feeds bombard us with this present evil day after day. And this week especially, the images of evil have been so pervasive, we cannot escape them. No matter how hard we try, no matter how much we filter things, it pushes through reminding us of how wicked this world is. It’s not simply the evil and atrocious acts themselves, though that’s enough to break us. It’s also the celebration of those evil and atrocious acts. This week our world has celebrated murder. They’ve danced, they’ve sung, they’ve shared posts about it. What an exceedingly dark world we are living in. Without the grip of God, this world would be a very, very scary place to live. And because that kind of evil exists, we live with the constant reality that our presence

in this world could come to an end in a moment. But listen to the voice of your shepherd in John 16, 33. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. Or hear the comforting words of 1 John 5, 4-5. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Family, hear this reminder from Romans 8, 38 and 39. For I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. That’s the grip of God.

And nothing can separate us from Him because of that grip, child of God. That’s your assurance that you have in Christ that though the world may rage, though the nations celebrate evil, though the powers of hell may do their worst work in this world, you are safe in His hands. And He will carry you home into His presence forever. But this evil, the very kind of evil we’ve seen celebrated this week reveals that there are many who resist His grip. They hate it. Because to be held by Christ is to be claimed by Christ. It’s to belong to Him. It’s to submit to His authority. It’s to acknowledge Him as Lord. And that rubs against a world that preaches tolerance, inclusivity, autonomy, and self-rule. So this claim of being known in hell doesn’t land softly with the wickedness in our world. Look at how the Jewish leaders responded, the ones who knew God’s Word.

Look at how they responded in verse 31, the Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus’ words are not only comforting, they’re controversial. Because when Jesus says things like, I give them eternal life, no one will snatch them out of My hand, and I and the Father are one, He’s not offering one opinion among many. He’s making an exclusive claim about Himself, the only shepherd, the only Savior, the only way to God. And the religious leaders in John 10 know exactly what He’s saying. They didn’t hear those words as gentle comfort, they heard them as a direct challenge to their autonomy and to their authority. They heard it as blasphemy. And with hatred in their hearts, they reached for stones. Family, do you see? Nothing has changed since the days of our Lord Jesus. If they hated Jesus for His exclusive claims and picked up stones, they will hate the exclusive

What Has He Done?

claims of the followers of Jesus and pick up stones. We’ve seen this pattern all throughout church history, and it will continue until the Lord comes again in judgment and with justice. This brings us to the third question the passage forces on us. What has He done? Verses 32-39, Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of them are you going to stone me? The Jews answered Him, it is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy because you, being a man, make yourself God. Now just pause here for a second because this is huge. Jesus has just said, I and the Father are one, and His opponents know exactly what He means. Just like they knew what He meant when He said, I am the bread of life, and when He

said, I am the living water, and when He said, I am the light of the world, or when He said, I am the I am. They didn’t think He was simply saying, I agree with the Father, or me and the Father are in unity because we’re on the same kind of mission. They hear His claim as being equal with God, and that’s why they bend down to pick up stones. Now just a side note, there are many people in our world today who make the claim that Jesus never claimed to be God. You’ll hear that from Muslims who honor Jesus as a prophet but deny that He’s the Son of God. You’ll hear it from Jehovah’s Witnesses who say that He’s just a created being, the archangel of Michael in human form. You’ll hear it from Mormons who say, you know, He’s simply a God among many gods.

You’ll hear it from liberal scholars and progressive Christians who reduce Him to nothing more than a moral teacher or spiritual guide. But here in John 10, the evidence couldn’t be more clear. Jesus is not only making Himself equal with God, He’s saying outright that He and the Father are one. And that’s exactly why the religious leaders pick up stones to kill Him. They understood exactly what He was claiming. They didn’t think He was just claiming to be a prophet. They didn’t think He was claiming to be a wise teacher. They wanted Him dead because He was claiming equality with God. When they hear those words of Jesus, it provokes the same rage that Antiochus provoked when they desecrated the temple. And notice how Jesus responds when they threaten Him. He doesn’t backpedal. He doesn’t say, no, no, no, no, you misunderstand me. I didn’t mean that I’m equal with God.

No, He leans into it. Verse 32, He says, I have shown you many good works from the Father. Of which of them are you going to stone Me? In other words, My works prove My words, and My works are the Father’s works. So if you’re going to reject Me, at least be honest about what you’re rejecting. You’re not stoning Me because I’ve done something evil, you’re stoning Me because you refuse to accept what My works reveal, that I am one with the Father. And to further build His case, Jesus takes them straight to Scripture. Look at verses 34 through 36. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said you are gods? If He called them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be broken, do you say of Him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world?

You are blaspheming because I said, I am the Son of God? Now admittedly, this little section here can be a little bit confusing. So let’s just try to slow down and try to make this a little bit more plain. Jesus here is quoting from Psalm 82. And in that Psalm, God is speaking to Israel’s judges, the leaders who were supposed to rule with His justice. In verse 6, He says, You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you. So God calls them lowercase g gods, not because they were divine, but because they had been given authority from God to act on God’s behalf. They carried a kind of borrowed authority. But here’s the thing. Verse 7 says that those judges didn’t do well. They judged unjustly. They abused their position. This is why God says, You are gods, but like men, you shall die.

In other words, they were called gods because of their office, but they were still just men, sinful, corrupt, and mortal. And so here is Jesus’s point. If God could use that kind of language about sinful human judges, calling them gods because of the role that they played, why then are you accusing me of blaspheming when I, the one the Father Himself has set apart and sent into the world, say that I am the Son of God? And do you see the logic? This is what rabbis call a lesser-to-greater argument. If corrupt men can be called gods, lowercase g, and in some sense because of borrowed authority, how much more fitting is it for the eternal Son, the one who perfectly reveals the Father, to bear the title Son of God? So that’s the argument there. And then kind of tucked right in the middle of this argument is this little phrase, Scripture

cannot be broken. That’s Jesus saying the Bible is authoritative. Every word can be trusted. Every single verse, even a single word, carries unshakable authority. So it’s not just logic, it’s Scripture. And after using his rabbinic logic and Scripture, he comes back to his works, verses 37 and 38. If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father. Essentially, Jesus is saying, even if you can’t get past your objections to me, at least look at the evidence. Look at the works and how they point to the truth, that the Father is in me and I am in the Father. And again, how do the listeners respond after Jesus makes his irrefutable case?

Verse 39, again, they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. After being confronted both with Scripture and logic, they don’t fall on their knees in worship. They don’t say, truly, this is the Son of God. Instead, they double down. They harden their hearts, and once again, they attempt to arrest him. But there is a tragic irony in this passage. They accuse Jesus of being a man who is making himself God when the truth is the exact opposite. He is God who made himself man. Kids, this is what we talked about in the kids’ catechism today. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The eternal Son humbled himself, entered into our world, and stood in our midst. Now, you have to remember the backdrop of the feast. Two hundred years earlier, Antiochus Epiphanes, the one who arrogantly called himself God manifest, desecrated a temple, polluted worship, and brought devastation.

And here, at the very feast where the people celebrated deliverance from the false God manifest, instead of worshiping Jesus, they are rejecting the true God manifest, standing right in front of them. Antiochus exalted himself and brought death. Jesus humbled himself and brought life. Antiochus desecrated God’s house, but Jesus came as God’s holy temple, the true dwelling place of God. Do you remember what Jesus said back in John 2? Destroy this temple, and in three days I will rise it up? He wasn’t talking about the stones of the temple. He was talking about his body. And Antiochus defiled the old temple, but Jesus is the new temple, the place where heaven and earth meet, where sacrifice, true sacrifice, and forgiveness is found. Jesus is God among men. God manifested in the flesh who promises eternal life for his sheep by destroying his body, the temple, and raising it again in three days.

In this, this is the tension of John 10. The evidence was right there before them. But they harden their hearts. They pick up stones instead of bowing in faith. And you see, rejection is often the case. But it’s not always the case, because John closes this section with another group of people who respond very differently, which brings us to the final question this passage presses on us. How will you respond? Let’s look at verses 40 through 42. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first and there he remained. And many came to him and they said, John did no sign. But everything that John said about this man was true. And many believed in him there. And do you see the stark contrast? In Jerusalem, the very heart of religion, the very center of worship is where the leaders

How Will You Respond?

reject him. But across the Jordan, in the wilderness, among ordinary people, many believe. They remembered the testimony of John the Baptist. John never performed miracles. He never wowed the crowds with signs, but everything he said about Jesus was true. And now they see the words and the works of Jesus with their own eyes and they believe. And that’s the closing picture John wants us to see. Two very different responses to the same Jesus. Some accuse him of blasphemy and prideful rejection. Others confess him as Lord. Some bend down for stones. Others bow in faith. And that’s the question for you this morning. How will you respond? Dear friend, if you’re here this morning and you don’t consider yourself to be a Christian and you’ve come here this morning for whatever reason, maybe the cultural moment has caused for you to think, man, I got to figure some of this stuff out.

This world is way too crazy and scary. I need to understand what’s going on in our world. And that’s why you’re here this morning. Let me just address these four questions again with simplicity and clarity specifically for you. Who is he? He is not a Jesus of your imagination. He’s not a Jesus that you can file away in your pocket, but the Jesus of God’s design. He is the son of God, the shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. And when we say that he laid down his life, what we mean is that he died on the cross to pay for your sins. The Bible says that the payment for sin, the atrocious acts that are played out on humanity from the worst to the least in the sight of a holy God deserves death, which means humanity has a debt that they could never pay because of their sin.

But God came in the flesh to live the life that we failed to live and to die the death that we deserve to die because of our sin. Who are his? His sheep are the ones who hear his voice, who are known by him and follow him, not just religious people, not a moral majority, not a cultural Christian, but those who belong to him by faith. Do you hear him calling you this morning? Is he calling you this morning? If so, listen to his voice and come to him. Turn from your old life and find a new life in Jesus, one full of freedom and peace and security. Follow him in faith by believing that he is the son of God who is God. What has he done? He has shown the works of the father and spoken the words of the father. He stood on the authority of scripture and declared that he and the father are one.

And ultimately he went to the cross to die for our sins. He’s accused of blasphemy. But listen, he’s vindicated by God at the resurrection because he didn’t just die. He rose again from the grave, proving that he is who he said he is, amen. And so dear friend, how will you respond? How will you respond? That’s the unavoidable question this text demands of you. Some picked up stones, others believed, and the same choice lies before you this morning. Let me ask you, what will you do with Jesus? What will you do with him? Will you dismiss his claims and walk away? Or will you bow before Jesus, the son of God, the good shepherd, the only one who can save you of your sins? The one who says, I give them eternal life and they will never perish, no one will snatch them out of my hand, calls you this morning to come to him.

Hear his voice, trust in his grip, and belong to his flock forever. And you can respond to him this morning. You don’t have to clean yourself up first, you don’t have to figure things out, you don’t have to prove yourself worthy, you simply come weak and sinful, putting your faith in the shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep and who took it up again. And listen, if you have questions about what that means, if you want to follow Jesus but you’re not sure how to do it, there will be a few people at the end of the service standing right below these steps and they will be ready and willing to talk to you about what it means to follow Jesus. And if you have had a week full of fear and you are afraid and you don’t know where to go and what to do, those same people would love to pray for you and help you to know

what it means to navigate this world with security and rest and comfort. So please don’t leave this morning. If you have questions about following Jesus or you are so riddled with fear that you need to talk with someone, they will be here ready to talk to you. Amen? Brothers and sisters, I want to close this morning by leaving you with the encouragement that this text anchors us to. Your eternal security rests in the strength of His grip, not your own. Be free. Be free. It’s His grip on you, not your grip on Him, and His hand does not slip. His hand does not weaken, and His hand will never let you go. That is your comfort, Christian. That is your promise. Think about what this encouragement brings to every season of your life. When doubts rise, which are prone for every Christian, His grip is steady, even if yours

is wavering. When suffering presses in, His grip is strong, even when you feel like you can’t hold on. When temptation feels overwhelming, His grip will not let you go. When sin makes you stumble, His grip is still there holding you fast, even though you feel like you’ve failed too many times. He doesn’t let go because of your sin. And dear family, even in the fear of death, or even in the face of death itself, His grip will carry you into eternal life. Dear Christian, there is no need to fear, no matter how wicked this world is. You have nothing to fear because you are held in the double grip of the Son and the Father. Two hands, one divine and inescapable grip, absolute eternal security. So rest in that. Walk in peace. Live with the confidence Christ provides for Christians. Not because you’ll never fail, but because He will never fail.

And yes, while it is true, we do live in a dark world, the last few days have reminded us of that in very painful and sobering ways. Again, our feeds are filled with images that in many ways shock us, anger us, even shake the very foundation of our faith. Wicked atrocities that are not only committed but celebrated. It can leave you feeling fearful, wondering if the darkness will ever let up, or if this world is simply spinning out of control. Brothers and sisters, hear me. The shepherd who called you is the shepherd who keeps you. If you hear His voice and you follow Him, you will be kept by Him all the way to the end. The Father who gave you to Him is greater than all, which means even in the darkness, you are safe. Even when evil seems to prevail, you are secure.

Even when fear grips your heart, His grip is stronger still, and He will hold you fast. Jesus said, again, in this world you will have tribulation, but take heart, dear Christian. I have overcome the world. Family, the encouragement of John 10 is perfectly fitting for our cultural moment. It is a perfect passage for us to rest in after a week filled with chaos, fear, and evil, because it reminds us that if you are His sheep, you are safe forever in the grip of God’s grace. Amen? Let’s pray.