Our next area of interest is where Jesus asserts His deity but like the stiff necked people all around Him the leadership takes on the same characteristics of them, or is it the other way around? Picking up the flow at verse 22 of John 10.
John 10:22-30 "It was at Jerusalem during the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. When Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, "How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, 'I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.'" (KJV)
John 10:22-30 "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." 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.'" (ESV)
John 10:22-30 "Now in Jerusalem they were celebrating the feast of the Renewal of the Temple - which was in winter. (This feat of Renewal, or new beginnings - [Strong's G1456] ἐγκαίνια, egkainia, eng-kah'ee-nee-ah, [1]en=kainos - also known as the Feast of Dedication - today or the Feast of Lights - which was 3 months after the Feast of Tabernacles -today Hanukkah - meaning to understand, to teach - lasting eight days from the 25th day of Kisleo (in December) and commemorating the re-dedication of the Temple in 165 BC by the Maccabees after its desecration by the Syrians. It is marked by the successive kindling of eight lights. It was instituted by Judas Maccabeus, his friends, and the elders of the congregation of Israel in commemoration of the reconsecration of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, and especially of the altar of burnt offerings, after they had been desecrated during the persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes (168BC). This happened on the day, 3 years after the destruction of the temple. The significant happenings of the festival were the illumination of houses and synagogues, and the singing of Psalm 30.
Jesus lived and communicated from his awareness of the prophetic significance of his life's mission in laying down his life and in co-raising fallen humanity together with him in his resurrection - Hosea 6:2 / Ephesians 2:5. Look at John 2:19 To which Jesus responded, 'The temple will be completely demolished by you and in three days I will raise it up!'
It is also interesting to note that the numerical value of the name Jesus, is 888 - The name of Jesus in Greek is spelled I H S Oh U S (iota, eta, sigma, omicron, upsilon, sigma). Substituting in the Greek numeral system the equivalent numerical values to each letter in the name of Jesus and adding them up, the total is 888. The values of each letter are: iota, 8, sigma, 200; omicron, 70; upsilon, 400; sigma, 200. The sum of 10=8=200=70=400=200 is 888.)
Jesus was wandering around in the temple in Solomon's porch. (A covered colonnade on the eastern side of the outer court of the temple - a relic of Solomon's days, which had remained intact in the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar. Very much in the next Jewish festival - 4 months later - he would fulfill John 1:29 and 2:19 as the Lamb of GOD to be slaughtered by his own people - for his Father to raise him up on the 3rd day and for humanity to be rebooted into newness of life! En kainos!) Suddenly the Jews closed in on him and demanded to know, "How long will you keep our soul suspended in mid-air? If you are the Christ then tell us plainly!" Jesus answered them, 'I have told you and you would not believe; all I do is endorsed by my Father and in his name and these works confirm my words. Your unbelief shows that you are from a different Shepherd's flock, as I've said before. (You have made deception your Shepherd. John 8:38, 43, 44. John 8:43 You do not understand my language because you are not hear my logic! [My dialect seems foreign to you because you are not familiar with the Logic of GOD. You might be acquainted with the letter of the Law in Scripture but you are not acquainted with the Word! Look at John 5:39-40 and 8:31. The word lalia means dialect or language.]) My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. And I give them the life of the ages and they shall never be lost neither shall anyone wrestle them out of my hand. as for my Father, what He has given me is most precious and no-one can snatch then out of his hand! (Look at Westcott and Hart text, which is more reliable and uses older manuscripts than the Textus Receptus. That which my Father has given me is greater than all. The greatness of the value of the flock, is the ground of their safety. And the Weymouth NT, "What my Father has given me is more precious than all besides; and no one is able to wrest anything from my Father's hand.") My Father and I are One!'"
We will look at the Jews response in our next post, the LORD willing.
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