I And My Father Are One

John 10:19-31

Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?" Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" 

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If a 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, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone 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 My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."

Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 


I needed to look up the word division. These Jews were just so adamant. We know what the word means, but... Strong's Concordance defines the word: dissension, schism, rent. The root word is defined: to cleave asunder, split into factions.

Those definitions add more punch. Jesus was great at bringing division. These Jews just wouldn't listen. Did they really want to know who He was? Or were these questions and declarations just other excuses to kill Him because He was more than they could handle?

Again Jesus told the truth. He had proven to them using not just the healing of the blind man but other examples of miracles. The Jews knew the scriptures of the Old Testament where prophetic words were spoken regarding He who would come to be their Messiah. They turned their own blind eyes even after Jesus said that He and His Father were one. Such blasphemy to these men.

Imagine talking like this to the Son of God. Yet some do.

We either believe Jesus is who He says He is or we do not. We either follow Him or we do not. We are serious about Him or not. We either trust explicitly in Him or we do not. There are some who still turn blind eyes to Him.

Jesus was and always will be controversial. He will either be believed or dismissed. There will always be division. We will either follow Him or our own ways. We will be like the wandering sheep or the sheep that follow. It's our choice.

He tells us, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish... He is the sole protector of those whom He considers His sheep. His Word, His voice will either delight us or have no meaning for us. And that brings division.

Psalm 23 also points out that with Jesus as our Good Shepherd we shall not want. Our lives will not always run smoothly. But Jesus will care for each of us. While He brought division back then, He also laid down His life for all mankind, and offered eternal life to those who would take the step to follow Him, to those whose blind eyes were opened, whose hearts would believe. More where division comes in. Those who believe and those who do not.

Matthew 10:34 - Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 

I Lay Down My Life

John 1:10-18

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of the fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."


John 10 is predominantly the chapter discussing the sheep and the shepherd.

The Bible says: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) And Jesus is describing this in this part of John 10.

We are all like sheep. We are. Sheep are not too bright; neither are we sometimes. We need God's wisdom, His Spirit, to understand the things of God. We need His Son Jesus to provide this wisdom. We need to be in relationship with Him, like Adam and Eve once were in relationship with God. Like what happened in the Garden, the thief, our enemy, satan, came to destroy that relationship, which ultimately removed our relationship also. We can so be like sheep and wander from God's truths.

To avoid the wiles of the devil we need a Savior. We need the guidance and correction of a good shepherd. As Isaiah stated we have all gone astray. But God...sent His only begotten Son to lay His life down for us. Jesus willingly laid down His life that we could all have life. Shepherds watched over their flocks. The good shepherd would sleep at the entrance to his sheepfold to protect them from the wolves and robbers. He was willing to lay down his life for the sheep. The Good Shepherd in real time does the same.

In the natural we haven't a clue. Until one day Jesus comes into our lives and opens our eyes to His truth, salvation, protection, wisdom. Because we are so like sheep and so prone to wandering, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, took all the sins imaginable...and unimaginable...upon His body when He was scourged and beaten. He endured the pain each of us as wandering sheep piled up in our lives. Imagine every one of everyone's sins all throughout history and those to come...imagine just your own. He bore them all. He laid down His life for each of us that we might have life.

We are to follow the One who laid down His life for us. Only in He is the truth. Jesus is our guide and protection for life. If we look to anyone else we will fall prey to the enemy...the hireling. He will take in anyone who has a desire for what He has to offer, any people, nationality, age. He is THE God of heaven. He alone has the power to save.

There are ministers, pastors, priests who are like the hireling. They don't care so much about the people, the sheep who need guidance, as they do about their own wallets, ministries, churches. This is very sad. It is why we need to go direct to our Shepherd, to Jesus, to receive all that is good. We are told we can have direct access to God. We do not need to go through anyone else. Actually, to do so is ineffective! Who knows the Father better? Who has the real power, man or Jesus?

Matthew 7:15 - Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

The Door

John 10:1-9

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."

Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. 

Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved! and will go in and out and find pasture."


I am thrilled with God's timing. Psalm 23 has been on my heart lately. I'm reading a book called A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller. I also recently watched (and transcribed) a short message by a Jewish believer in Jerusalem about shepherds and sheep (and Psalm 23). And I was amazed that it all came together as I am delving into John 10. But then I'm amazed about a lot of things God does!

Jesus tells all of us that He is the Door. He is the way, truth and life and no one comes to the Father but by Him. We are told to enter by the narrow gate, that Jesus is the only way. We can look at it this way...

We have the world. Within the world there is a sheepfold. Within that sheepfold are those who have a good shepherd to guide them. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. If we believe and receive Him we have entered that sheepfold. We know His voice over all the false voices in the world. We follow Him over all the others claiming they have the keys to success, prosperity and happiness. We trust in Him.

Listen to the Jewish believer's account regarding the door: If the entrance to the cave was wide, the question arises, how did a shepherd protect the opening? They gathered stones to fill in the opening and leave one small opening to allow the sheep to go in and out. The good shepherd would lead the flock by day to secure water and pasture, and at night stand at the entrance to the cave holding his staff and one by one count the sheep as they entered. He must, of course, have known they were his sheep. He must recognize his own flock. So he counted them. And since there is no door to speak of; he is the door. John 10:7 - I am the door of the sheep. 

There are those, however, who do not understand this. They do not understand the things Jesus speaks. And Jesus tells us...very truly, very assuredly, very honestly...that He is the door. He is the protector, success in His realm is greater than success in the world. His prosperity far outweighs worldly prosperity. And He offers happiness we cannot understand until we receive Him. Add to that the peace that passes all understanding. All things eternal are given us when we receive Christ. All He has to offer, including eternal life, green pastures, living water, He offers to us if we come to Him.

Unlike the game show which displays three doors one can open, in this world there are only two...one is a good door, the other is not. There is only one winning door.

Psalm 23:1-3 - The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul...

The Way of the Cross

Isaiah 53:6 - All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

This country is in a great need of a spiritual awakening. ...As I've traveled from city to city I see how far people have wandered from God. Of all the things I've seen and heard there's only one message that can change people's lives. There is a way...if you come the way of the cross. - Billy Graham

Years ago I would have quickly curled my lip and switched the channel had I seen commercials advertising Billy Graham and one of his televised crusades. For the most part each crusade was pretty much the same, with the same message in different words. Wasn't that ultimately what Jesus did?

We are all like sheep, wandering in our own directions. We all are in need of a Shepherd to guide us in the way of truth. There is only one true Shepherd and He paid the price so we all could be free from our wandering and guided by Him.

There is only one message...and Jesus IS the Message. Billy Graham said it...There is only one way, the way of the cross. Jesus said it like this: I am the way, truth and the life... How can you change that truth? Jesus is the Way...of the cross. In those days crucifixion was done so that all could see. Crosses were set up along the roads leading to and from a town, like a warning for others. Picture the Way carrying the cross and the Way being mounted onto it with nails and the Way suffering thereon, then the Way giving up the ghost. Graham said the worst part wasn't all that He had to go through to get to the cross. The worst part was for a time being separated, forsaken from His Father. That's what we all are before Christ...separated from our Heavenly Father.

All Jesus has done for us. I AM THE WAY, He tells us. Like the warning if the crosses lining the way in the streets, He became the warning for us.

Hah! Yesterday our pastor, Terry Fischer, made mention of warning. Often people question how we can say God is a loving God but kill so many, as in the case of Sodom and Gomorrha, Samaria even other times when God's judgment fell on a people or nation, like how He does allow many to suffer the consequences of hell, although He's a loving God! He didn't cause the destruction without warning: He was merciful; He warned them, were Pastor Terry's words. He has sent prophets of old; he sent His Son.  Jesus' words of warning, and love, continue. So warning is a good thing. It's the hearers of the warnings who must decide if they want to listen or judge.

Sean Hannity had a special on Billy Graham. I wondered how he managed to do this. I would watch it with an open ear. A bit of doubt invaded my mind and heart because for all the important people Graham managed to reach and actually get to talk to or spiritually advise, I have to admit, I don't know to what extent their lives really changed, if they did. Perhaps he only planted the proverbial seed. Like Jesus, many may think Graham is just a good, wise man, maybe a prophet. They still believe what they want to believe.

It does cause me to wonder why and how so many think they understand? How different is it from my understanding or that of others? But then, it was a just a seed in my life years prior to my own conversion. And God knows the rest of all our stories. Only God knows the outcome of the lives Billy Graham has touched.

Graham said that though many would react to this message (if they decided to watch it) it is the truth and he said with all his heart he wanted to leave us with this truth. Graham wants to leave us...with the truth. This may be the last time we hear from this man of God. But till his dying breath he will give us the same message of truth...that Jesus is the only way, truth and life; we are to take up our cross and follow Him.

What is Jesus' message? That He loves you and is willing to forgive you of all your sins. But you must go by way of the cross. You must believe that He was virgin born, lived a holy life with the very real knowledge that He was going to die for all mankind. He knew not all would receive Him, not even some in His own family. Like Graham, His message would always be the same. There is only one message. Without Jesus there is no hope. Without Jesus there is death.

Graham pointed out several things about the cross:
. It is offensive...but a cross we all must face some day.
. We don't want to hear we are all sinners, but we are.
. It demands, not suggests, a new lifestyle from sin which is a disease that affects the heart.

Jesus is our only hope for our eternal future. He sets us free. We become new persons in Christ.

Don't think you're a sinner? That is the first sign you are. None are righteous. NO ONE. You can't name one person, not one. ALL are sinners. All are in need of Christ. Not working to receive Him but working for Him once He is received. There are endless testimonies of God's transforming power in people. If we look at these people and think "good for them; glad for them" and glad we haven't been there/done that because we've lived a better life than these transformed individuals, we look at ourselves as better than they...another sin. When I hear or read about how God intervened in such a personal, powerful way in one person's life, it reminds me of the day it all became so real for me...and other times when I knew the Lord had intervened in my life in some way.

As one young woman in the program put it: The truth is, there is no other way. Besides Christ and what He did there's no life. Isn't that what Jesus tells us? I am the way, truth and the life. All that He did for us....it's mind boggling. He BECAME sin for us. He died on a cross where each of us should be. Without Him we remain in our sinful states. That is one truth. Another truth is we can be free of our sin if we receive Christ. Yet other truths: We will be forgiven of our sins and given eternal life; however, if we don't want to change what we are or how we view things we are rejecting Christ.

Graham spoke these wonderful words: Jesus was the only one born in this world without sin. But more than that He was a righteous one and when you come to Him you're clothed in His righteousness. God no longer sees your sin, nor your own heart. He sees Jesus.

We are told, as Graham said in one of his crusade messages, we don't have to understand all this...just believe. And anyone can believe...with all our heart. Believe, as Graham pointed out, means to commit...committing my life totally to Him. It's not just thinking in our minds, okay, I believe. It comes from a belief deep in your spirit, through repentance and faith in Him. One that causes a change in the way you think and believe. It causes you to want to be changed by a holy God. Repentance is that change. Recognizing you are a sinner and He is the only one who can forgive.

While Jesus may have died 2,000 years ago, He also arose and is still alive today ready to forgive anyone who is willing to put their faith and trust in the one true Way.

Some ask that you say a prayer to receive Christ. I received Christ before the prayer. The prayer was more a confirmation. Anyone can come to Christ by sincerely asking Him to show you what YOU need to see or hear to make Him real to you. It's not about a prayer. It's a heart issue and sincerity. Will your heart be the proper soil for receiving this seed?

John 10:11 - “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."