Small Group Lesson for March 11th: The Book of John 10:30-42
The Book of John 10:30-42 - I and the Father are One
Please read John 10:22-42
We are going to overlap a little from last week. In this chapter we have read how Jesus is the Good Shepherd- How He cares for us, Loves us and protects us. We have read how the Religious Leaders are the hired hands who care nothing for their sheep- they literally kick a blind and needy man out of church because their hearts are so closed to Jesus. We talked about how they cornered Jesus and asked Him, “If you are the Christ- tell us plainly.” They are blaming Jesus for their unbelief and they want to trap Him. Lets remember to not blame Jesus for our doubt- God has given us plenty of rational, reasonable evidence in Jeus that He is the Messiah. There are more than enough signs- they just don’t want to believe. Again, this is because Jesus is not being the Messiah that they want- they want a political and military leader that is going to overthrow the Roman Government. We have seen however with the Gentiles and Samaritans- people with open hearts-He does call Himself the Messiah. Jesus throughout the Book of John has been saying plenty of who He is and where He came from- I am the Bread that gives Life, I am from Heaven, I am from God and sent by God, I am Living Water, I am the Good Shepherd. But the Religious Leaders still refuse to believe because their hearts are closed and they want to blame Jesus for their unbelief.
In verse 29-Jesus talks to them about how the Father has given Jesus His sheep and No one can snatch them from Him. Jesus says this is, “because His Father is Greater than All.” What a picture this is- how the Creator of the Universe has a firm grip on us as believers! Jesus then says in verse 30- “I and the Father are ONE.” Jesus is saying they have the same heart, the same will. David Guzik comments like this-“This is such a profound Spiritual and Theological statement. First it says that the Father and Son are distinct- they are 2 different persons. In the ancient grammar, Jesus says they are one- not just oneness of person, but oneness of essence- meaning- the Son- Jesus’ essence is of a divine being and is the same essence of God the Father.” Jesus keeps going back to His relationship with the Father to show us our relationship to God. It is intimate, its Loving, it’s a close friendship. Jesus is defining the character of the Father- we see in just these passages alone that God is Great, He is a protector, He loves us- so this is also the character of Jesus. Meaning, you want to know what God the Father is like- look and listen to the words and works of Jesus (10:25). Jesus will say later in the upper room at the last supper, “If you have seen Me than you have seen the Father.” (John 14:9).
But with this being said- like the religious leaders- it doesn’t matter- if we don’t believe. So how do we define who the Father is? I know one way is we look at the Earthly fathers that are in our lives. This can either help us or it can hurt us with our perception. Some of us have had great Earthly Fathers that have modeled Christ in an amazing way, while others of us have had fathers that have completely abandoned us, hurt us- physically and verbally, they have not brought us to Christ, but pushed us away. I am here to tell you that your Heavenly Father Loves you more than you will ever be able to comprehend. The best way you could ever try to understand is to look at the words and works of Jesus Christ. He loves you unconditionally!
So now moving to verse 31- We read how the religious leaders hear Jesus’ answer and they don’t like it. They don’t like it so much that they pick up rocks to stone Jesus for His response. This brings up such a huge point that if you ever have to move to violence to make your point- you have completely lost the battle. Jesus never fell back on violence to make His points, but used the opposite- Words and Actions in Love. In verse 34 we see Jesus not turning to run, but He tries to reason with them as Rabbis. He answers as a educated man- gives them the respect as educated men and quotes from Psalm 82. David Guzik says In Psalm 82, “God refers to human judges as Gods- because on a human level a judge is like a God among men. An accused man stands before a judge and their fate rests on that judge’s hand and decision. They may live or die, spend their life in prison because of that judges decision.” God is calling them to a serious responsibility- He calls them Gods, but says you will die under My (God’s) judgement if handled incorrectly. This should remind us in our positions of authority given to us by God- to act accordingly in the eyes of God. We will have to answer to God for our actions- with our family, our work, school, etc. So when we find ourselves with a God given responsibility of authority- Use it Well! So Jesus says that if God spoke of you as Gods- why are you so offended that I call myself God- and the leaders don’t have an answer for it.
Moving to verse 35 lets look at how it says, “and Scripture cannot be Broken.” These are words we need to acknowledge how important they are. This is saying God’s Word will Not fail! It can be Trusted- throughout history- people who have opposed the Word of God have been defeated. This Truth- the Bible was true thousands of years ago- it has Not changed- it’s unbreakable and every Word of it is still True today. And it will break whoever opposes it- past, present and future.
Verse 39 we see Jesus escapes from the religious leaders. Jesus knows that His greatest test (His betrayal, arrest and crucifixion) are to come. The next time that Jesus will be in Jerusalem will be to die. And so in verse 40 He retreats from “the field of battle” – not because He was afraid of the fight, but because He knew the greatest battle ever to be fought is near. Guzik says, “Jesus wanted to arm Himself for this battle – He goes to the right place where He could focus- if Jesus had to do this – how much more do we have to focus for the battles in our lives?” Jesus knew His battles- what are the battles we face? What are the battles we need to prepare for? We need to always remember to plug into Jesus- Look at His Words and Works to arm ourselves for these battles. In verses 41-42 it says, “Many came and believed in Him” - This shows the goodness of the Father – arming Jesus – giving Him people who believed in Him. This allowed Jesus to say - Yes Father- Your Word is True. We should always remember to put away self reliance and believe in the Perfect Word of God.
Discussion:
1. How have your Earthly Fathers helped or hurt you with your relationship with God the Father? How can you use Jesus’ Words – “I and the Father are One” to help you as a Christian?
2. What are the positions of Authority God has given you? How can you improve in these roles?
3. What are the battles in your life you need to arm yourself for? What’s the best way to prepare yourself and fight these battles?