After Jesus healed the man born blind (chap. 9) the religious leaders removed the healed man from their synagogue because he believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God (9:34). After Jesus told the religious leaders they were blinded to spiritual truth (9:39-41) he then told them the truths in chapter ten. Jesus contrasted himself with who they werein their “ministry,” making it very clear they were not true shepherds.
Jesus shepherds the sheep while false teachers steal them (vv. 1-6). Jesus saves the sheep while false teachers kill them (vv. 7-10). While false teachers only serve as “shepherds” for money (vv. 11-13) Jesus as the “Good Shepherd” died for the sheep, intimately knows them (vv. 14-15), and gathers them (vv. 16-18). Though some listening were open to what Jesus said, the false religious leaders responded by calling Jesus a demon-possessed crazy man (vv. 19-21).
Three months later at a feast there was another conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders (vv. 22-39). Jesus told them that they rejected him because of their sin (vv. 25-26) while believers follow Jesus because he and the Father save them (vv. 27-30). The Jews then wanted to kill Jesus, because by calling God his Father he made himself equal with God (vv. 31-33). Jesus relied on Scripture’s authority (vv. 34-36) and pointed them to his person and works (vv. 37-38), maintaining that he indeed was God in the flesh.
Truths to Nail Down and Meditate On
- Beware of those who say they care about you but only care about your money!
- When Jesus saves sinners and brings them into his care no one can threaten or remove them. Some like to say that no one can take them out of God’s hands but they can take themselves out. This fails to recognize the figure of speech Jesus uses: “hand” represents God’s power, and God is all-powerful. For someone to say they can thwart or undo God’s power is to say they’re more powerful than God!
- There is no greater authority than the Word of God. Jesus relied on Scripture, you must too!
