Messiah and Father are one.

This is my first time writing on this blog. I am not the best of writers. My writing style can be best described as a person throwing a bunch of audio frequencies together and hoping that the end result is harmonious music. That rarely happens.

There are some things better understood when you know the background of John. The gospel of John was written towards the end of the 1st century.  The major controversies of the day were the nature of Christ and Gnosticism.

Also by this time, the church had been put out off the Synagogues because members of this Jewish sect did not participate in the nationalistic Jewish-Roman wars (66 – 70 AD). Until then Christians met in Synagogues where possible. They were warned by Jesus this would happen (John 16:2). Because of this sharp split between the Christians and Jews, John's gospel carries a different tone to it when compared with the synoptic gospels, one that has been described as anti-semitic by modern day readers. The reason people around Jesus were termed as Jews, unlike in the synoptics, is because the Christians (even Jewish ones) now saw themselves apart from the Jews of the flesh. 

The retelling of the gospel story by John dealt with the above two issues. It brings out the nature of Christ and it comforts those of the Church that they are the people of God.

John 10:22-24

²² At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. ²⁴ 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.”

Even with the Jewish – Christian schism, there is no escaping of the Jewish roots of Christianity. We should resist our strong tendencies to westernize the gospels. They should always be read in the context of the 1^st century Jew.

Though there is no feast of dedication in the mosaic law, Jews celebrated it, since it was part of their redemptive history. It was the festival that remembered the cleansing of the  Temple by the Maccabees after it's desecration in the 2^nd century BCE. It was after this cleansing that the Jews were able to live as a free nation, since their conquest by Babylon. This lasted for about 100 years. This festival came to signify to the Jews that same longing to be free from foreign Roman rule. It was on this day that Jesus makes a point to walk or pace in Solomon's court. Jesus by his actions was claiming to be sitting on the throne of David and setting Israel free. This symbolic gesture was not lost on the Jews, which is why they ask him to them plainly if he is the Christ.

John 10:25-30

²⁵ 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, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. ²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

Jesus reply is multi-faceted. He first claims to have been clear about him being Christ. The reason for their confusion is lack of faith. There is a personal humbling application to this. It is easy for us to say that the reason people think Jesus makes no sense is because they have no faith. But i think it can be even applied to us who have some faith. Imagine, us having a weak faith which blinds us from seeing Jesus for who he is. We can see Jesus as a savior but not a king. Or we see Jesus as a king but without a kingdom. Or some people might see Jesus as a fan of their favorite football team. Let our faith grow that we may see Jesus for who he is.

Secondly, Jesus asks them to believe in him at least for his works. Isn't it interesting that even before his death and ressurection, it was clear from his works that he was the Christ? It is important to notice this sequence. Jesus was revealed to us completely before the cross and ressurection, people could not believe him, even his disciples. The real change comes in them after the indwelling of God's spirit. Seeing Jesus for who he is, cannot come apart from his Spirit. There is a worldly saying «seeing is believing.» This did not work for the Jews around Jesus or even for many people today.

Thirdly, Jesus gets to the bottom of unbelief. «You are not of my flock.» This maybe hard for us to accept but this how Jesus reasons with the Jews around him. To really understand this we need to get into the Jewish mind. In the OT God calls the Jews, his flock. Here is where we see the high Christology of Jesus coming out in the gospel of John. Jesus uses the term "my flock," similar language used by God for the Jews (implicitly equating himself to God). Until now only the Jews have been called "my people" or the people of God. But Jesus dis-inherits the Jews, who did not believe him! Imagine how offended they must have felt.

Also notice the sign of being part of the flock is hearing the voice of Jesus and following him. They are followed by some great promises. Jesus will give his flock eternal life and will never be snatched out of his hands because that would be like snatching out of God's hand. A second attempt by Jesus of equating himself to the Father.

Finally Jesus comes out and says that he and the Father are one. To see how the Jews react to this offense, we will have to wait untill next week.