All right, brethren, let's go
to John Chapter 10. John Chapter 10. Let's ask the Lord's blessing
before we begin. Our gracious God and our Father,
we come before your holy throne. through your all-powerful hand
and before your all-knowing eye. Lord, we approach you only in
Christ. We ask, Lord, that you bless
your Word today. Bless it to us and to each one. And make it go forth, Lord, and
make your people hear. Make one of your lost sheep come
to your feet and bow and cast all their care on you. Lord,
forgive us of our sins and help us now. Keep our minds focused
on you and let us behold our Redeemer.
We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Alright, now in verse 30, John
10.30, the Lord said, I and my Father are one. I and my Father
are one. And again, our Lord declares
by this that He is the Son of God. He is God. He is one with God the Father.
That's what He's declaring. And He told us this. He said
He was one in power to quicken and keep His people. He said
in verse 27, 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. He is speaking of their power
an ability to keep all His sheep, to preserve all His sheep. The
same power the Father has, the Son has. The Lord Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. He is God in human flesh. Now,
in John 5, the Lord declared this. We saw it before. He declared this. And He declared
some ways He is one with the Father. Let me review these with
you. He said He is one in His works
with the Father. He said in John 5, verse 17,
My Father worketh hither too, and I work." They did nothing
independent of each other. Whatever the Son does, the Father
does. Whatever the Father does, the
Son does. They work. They want in their work. They
want in their love and in their knowledge. He said in John 5.20,
The Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that he
that himself doeth. So they're one in their love
for one another, one in their knowledge of all things. They're
one in power to quicken and preserve His people. Just as He's saying
in our text, He said in John 5, verse 21, As the Father hath
raised us up from the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the
Son quickeneth whom He will. They're one. We're talking about
the Son of God and God the Father. One in judgment. He said in John
5.22, The father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment
to the son. They're one in judgment. They're
one in honor. He said in John 5.23, That all
men should honor the son, even as they honor the father. He
that honoreth not the son, honoreth not the father who sent him.
They're one in their honor. This is saying it's one God.
One in justifying His people and giving us eternal life. He
said, John 5.24, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth
My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting
life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from
death to life. You see how they're one in justifying
His people. One in this where He said, He
that heareth My word and believeth on the Father that sent Me. That
means they're one. We believe Christ and we believe
the Father. The one in will, he said in John 5.30, I seek
not mine own will, but the will of the Father which has sent
me. Everything the Lord did, he was doing the will of the
Father. He said, I came not to do mine own will, but the will
of him that sent me. And everything he did was the
Father's will. It was Christ's will. He's the
Son of God, but it was one with the Father's will. So this man,
Christ Jesus, is God. One with God and the Father. He and the Father are one. Now
when the Pharisees, you remember when they cast out the man and
he gave sight? Our Lord came to him. Look back
there in John 9 in verse 35. Jesus heard that they had cast
him out and when he found him, he said to him, Does thou believe
on the Son of God? That is what Christ is declaring
in our text, that He is the Son of God. I and my Father are one. Well, He asked this man that.
Do you believe on the Son of God? And the man said, Who is
He, Lord, that I might believe on Him? And Jesus said unto him,
Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee.
And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him. He fell
down and worshipped Him. If we are going to worship, If
we're going to worship, it's going to be worshiping Christ
as God, as the Son of God, a sovereign Savior, the sovereign who successfully,
effectually redeemed and quickened and saves his people. That's
the only way we can worship, is worship Him who is altogether
sovereign and does all the work in salvation. That's what this
man did. He hid his face in worship. But
what a different response these Pharisees had when they heard
that He's God. John 10, verse 31, Then the Jews
took up stones again to stone Him. They took up stones again
to stone Him. And He answered them, Many good
works have I showed you from My Father. For which of those
works do you stone Me? You just think about this. The
Lord Jesus only did good works. That's all he did. There was
no sin in him, and everything he did was a good work. And he
did many miraculous good works that did nothing but good for
the people. He did more good for these men
right here, their kinsmen, their families, their brethren, their
nation. He did nothing but good for them. That's all he did for them. And
our Lord said, now which of those works are you stoning me for?
And they couldn't say, they couldn't be honest and say, we don't believe
you've done any good works. Because then they would out themselves
completely. They had to find something they
could get the people to be with them on. And here's what they
said. Listen. And Jesus answered him
and said, for a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy. And because that thou, being
a man, makest thou thyself God. You see what a contrast in the
way A man that was given sight, he bowed down and worshipped
and said, Lord, I believe thou art the Son of God. These said,
you're blaspheming, saying you're God. They took up stones to stone
God Himself. We're not talking about just
a man. They took up stones to stone
God Himself. And this wasn't the first time.
They took up stones again to stone him. Back there in John
5 at Bethesda, when he told them he was the Son of God back there,
equal with the Father, they tried to kill him. They were ready
to kill him. In John 8, he declared he's God. He said, Before Abraham
was, I am. They picked up stones ready to
stone him again. And here they are now. He declares
again, I am the Son of God, he said. They pick up stones and
want to kill him. Now, in these men, we see what
the carnal mind is, right here. This is what the carnal mind
is. Paul said in Romans 8, the carnal mind is enmity against
God. Not just at enmity against God,
it is enmity against God. That's all the natural mind is,
is hatred against God. And it's against God being God. against Christ Jesus the Lord
coming and doing all the work of salvation. We see it here
in them. Every time the Lord declared
himself the Son of God, these men could not make themselves
not just be enraged, and they could not stop pursuing him. Their hearts were hard. They
could not cease pursuing him. Now that enmity demonstrates
two things for us. Two clear things are demonstrated
here. Number one, it demonstrates the necessity of the Son of God
coming, of God sending His Son and Him coming and working salvation
for His people, making us to be born again and bringing us
to cast our care on Him. It shows the necessity of it,
brethren, because this carnal mind right here, it's in every
sinner, but it's in every sinner that Christ saves. This is what
we've got to be safe from. Now, you may not see this, you
may not see, you don't see men in churches picking up stones
and throwing stones at the preacher or throwing stones at us or what
have you, unless things get bad. They may get that way again one
day. But that's not usually what you see. But you hear it, when
you hear it in messages preached where they're giving man glory
and they're giving man honor and they're putting it in man's
hands, that's nothing but a religion of enmity against God. And then
if you declare this message, men will get some, you've been
with men that you told them the truth and they just get, they
get heated, they get fired up over the truth of the gospel.
So it manifests, one, Christ had to come forth and save us.
And two, it manifests the wonder of God's amazing grace that He
did send His only begotten Son for sinners like us who hated
Him, just like they did. And He sent His Son for us. That's
amazing grace. Now, let's read on verse 33.
He says, The Jews answered Him, saying, For good work we stone
thee not, but for blasphemy And because that thou being a man
makest thyself God, Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your
law, I said, ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto
whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken,
say ye of him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into
the world, thou blasphemous, because I said I am the Son of
God? Now, what I want you to get from
this passage I just read is I want to focus on this one thing, that
God the Father sanctified and sent his Son into this world.
Now, verse 34, Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your
law, in your scriptures, that I said ye are gods? This is quoted
from Psalm 82. And in fact, what's taking place
right here in Christ judging these men, is a fulfillment of
Psalm 82. It's Christ doing what he said
he would do in Psalm 82. He's judging these men right
here as being unjust. But what did he mean when he
said, it's written in your law, I said, your gods? Well, in the
past, God the Father sanctified men, his true messengers that
he sent forth. He sanctified them. It means
he set them apart for his use. That's what it means. And He
sent them forth to preach His Word, to minister for Him, to
be His mouthpiece to those He sent them to. Listen to this.
God said of Moses, remember Moses was saying, I can't speak, Lord,
I have a speech impediment and I can't speak. So the Lord said,
Aaron shall be your spokesman unto the people. And he shall
be to thee instead of a mouth. And thou shalt be to him instead
of God. speak instead of God to Aaron,
and Aaron is going to speak to the people. And then he said
this, he said, And the Lord said to Moses, See, I have made thee
a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy preacher.
He'll be your mouthpiece. I've made you a god. Why did
he say it like that? Because Moses was sent forth
as a messenger from God, representing God as an ambassador of Christ,
speaking on behalf of Christ. And he was representative of
God to Pharaoh. That's what the meaning is. And
that's why the Lord said that in the psalm. He called his messengers,
anybody he put in authority. He said this of those faithful
and unfaithful. He said, you're gods. And he
said, right in the same verse in Psalm 82, he said, and you're
children of the highest. Children of the highest. Sons
of God. He's saying here, if the Word
of God says that of men, if God said that of men that he sent
and said this of men, your gods and your sons, he said, are you
saying, and the scripture can't be broken. He's appealing to
something they would have said. They would have liked the fact
that they probably read that off and said, yes, we're gods.
And the fact that they knew they would say the scripture can't
be broken. And so he appeals to that. And he says, but are
you saying that if God said that of men, then say ye of him whom
the Father hath sanctified and sent into this world, thou blasphemous,
because I said I'm the Son of God? God the Father sanctified him. He chose him in eternity, set
him apart, and sent him into the world in time. That means
the Father never looked to his people. He never looked to his
people. This is what infuriates sinners. He never looked to those he came
to save. He chose his son. He sanctified
his son. He set his son apart to be the
Christ, to be the one who would come forth and minister in God's
behalf for his people to save his people from our sin. And
he sent him. He's the sent one. I'll tell
you a blessing you see here. In the midst of all of this rejection,
Soon as he gets through preaching and declaring he's the shepherd
and he's the door, and he laid down his life for the sheep,
he declared those things, and soon as he got finished saying
that, it said there was a division again because of him. There was
a division. But then, no sooner is there
this division, and the next passage says, and then it was at Jerusalem
in the Feast of the Dedication, and it was winter, and there
the Lord was in Solomon's porch. You know what I say in that?
Even though He was rejected, even though men opposed Him,
our Lord Jesus Christ did not cease from His ministry. He did
not cease from His ministry. Now, He would shake the dust
off His feet and leave them and go to another place, but that
was even... He let them slam the door. He
let them pick up stones before He departed from them. But He
never ceased from His ministry. Why not? Men didn't send Him. The Father sent Him. The Father
sent him. And he continued to minister.
He was sent of God. But it's by his righteousness
alone. He's the one the Father chose,
and he is the righteousness God the Father provided himself for
his people. This is who Abraham saw when
he said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. Christ is the one. He's God. He's the one God provided. And
it's God providing Himself. And He is that Lamb. And that's
what infuriates carnal men whose minds are enmity against God.
It's because it declares plain and simple, no sinner can make
ourselves righteous by our works. No sinner can save ourselves
from our sin. God had to sin. God had to call. That's what it meant. God had
to call. And He sent His Son into this world. He's provided
the righteousness He requires, and Christ is at righteousness.
He is at righteousness. Let me read Romans 10 to you
real quick. Romans 10. I love how this is
worded. Romans 10. Verse 1. Brethren, my heart's desire and
prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear
them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge." Now, understand what Paul is saying there. He is saying
they are not saved. I had a man read that to me one
time and say, see there, they were saved, they were just in
error. No, they were not saved. He just
said, I pray God will save them. They are zealous, they are religious,
but they don't have a knowledge of God. Here Christ stood in
front of some men just like this. But listen to this word. For
they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, ignorant of God's
righteousness, going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. What is that? It's not a what,
it's a who. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. To everyone that
believeth. These men were sitting in Moses'
seat. They would instruct the men to
go to the law. They would instruct the men to
keep the law. They would instruct the men, even those that claimed
to believe Christ. These were some of those that
were saying, I want you to believe. That's fine, but you've got to
go to the law now, and you've got to be circumcised, and you've
got to do this, this, and this, or you can't be saved. And our
Lord is standing there saying, I came into this world to lay
down my life for the sheep. My Father sanctified me. He sent
me into this world for this purpose, that I might be the righteousness
of God for my people. The only righteousness my people
will be accepted in. How do you have this righteousness?
There's only one way you can have this righteousness. The
only way we can have this righteousness, brethren, is to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. Paul went on to say in Romans
10, we believe unto righteousness. We believe unto righteousness. We don't work unto righteousness,
we believe unto righteousness. Believing on Christ, his righteousness
is imputed to his people. This right here, this is the
rub. This is the rub. This is why
they want to pick up stones and kill him, because They hated
God. They hated God getting the glory.
They hated them not getting some glory. They hated them not being
in the seat of authority to whip men and make men do what they
thought they should do. Christ is sitting here declaring
to them what he says in Psalm 82. He's the judge of heaven
and earth. That's what he told them in John
5. And all judgment has been committed to Him. The Father
sent Him into the world to save His people, and rule His house,
and be the head of His house, and the Savior of His house,
and bring all His house to God. And that's what He's doing. That's
what He's doing. Now, look at these works. Now,
listen to our Lord. He said in verse 37, and this
is so good, if anybody doesn't believe, anybody doesn't believe
that Christ is the Son of God. Listen to this. Verse 37. He said, If I do not the works
of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though you believe
not me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that
the Father is in me and I in Him. The works of the Lord Jesus
Christ declare He is God. What our Lord did when He walked
this earth, declares He is God. The works of the Father. He said
there in verse 37, if I do not the works of my Father, believe
me not. But if I do, though you believe
not me, believe the works that you may know and believe that
the Father is in me and I in Him. Nobody ever did the works
the Lord Jesus Christ did. Nobody. Nobody shall ever do
the works because they're the works of the Father that the
Father gave Him to do that only He could do and only that God
has given Him the glory to do. He's the only one. They were
all good works. He only did good works. He's
the only one that could say, I always do that which pleases
the Father. He could say that. That was so
of Him. That was so of Him. And these
men didn't see any of His works as good. They didn't believe
Him. They didn't believe He did these works. What's that going
to say about you and I and our works and how the world is going
to see you? They did not see anything Christ
did as being good works. But what are some of those works?
These works declare He's God. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
that blind man who had never before seen, never had any sight. He'd been blind from his birth.
And the Lord Jesus Christ made that blind man see. He came to
deaf people who had never been able to hear, and the Lord gave
them hearing to be able to hear. He came to the dumb that could
not speak. Their tongue was held all of
their lives, and He came to them and gave them a tongue to be
able to speak. He cleansed lepers. You just
picture that leper running up to our Lord Jesus Christ and
saying, Lord, if Thou will, Thou can make me clean. Everybody's
jumped back. Nobody wants to touch him. They
wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole. This man is a leper. Our
Lord Jesus Christ reached out and touched him. And it didn't
have a negative effect on Christ. It had a positive effect on that
man. It made him whole. It made him whole. Our Lord Jesus
Christ raised the dead to life. We're going to see in the next
chapter. He spoke. Lazarus come forth. Lazarus had
been in the grave four days. He came out of that tomb. Christ
made water into wine. He made water. 1st Mercury, He
made water into wine. He took those few little fishes
and loaves and made food to exist that did not exist before. He
created food from just A few little fish and loaf. He made
an abundance of food that was not there before. He did that. They came in that storm. They're
tossed and they're going about in that storm. He came walking
on the water and then spoke into silence, the wind and the waves.
This is what the Lord... He really did this. He really
did these things. And I tell you this, in all those
miracles, he manifested he is the power of God. He is the Son
of God. He is God in human flesh. And
he said, if I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
But if I do, though you believe not me, believe the works that
you may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in
Him. Look back up there at verse 19. After he had spoken about
being the shepherd and they said there was a division again among
the Jews for these things, and many of them said he hath the
devil and he is mad, why hear ye him? Others said these are
not the words of him that hath the devil. Can a devil open the
eyes of the blind? Some saw these works and believed
on him. John 9, verse 32, that blind
man said, since the world began, was it not heard that any man
open the eyes of one that was born blind? If this man were
not of God, he could do nothing. And this is what our Lord is
saying. If you don't believe me, look to the works that I've
done and believe these works to be so that you might believe
on me. But now understand this, all those miracles that he did,
As great as they are and as wonderful and powerful as they were and
amazing as they are, they pale in comparison to what they point
us to, and that is the miracle of grace He works in His people.
That's the miracle. Far greater than any physical
thing He can do, far greater than stilling the storm of the
sea and all of that, is to create life in a dead sinner and bring
us to His feet to bow and believe on Christ. Our Lord Jesus comes
to where His people are and He finished all the works the Father
gave Him to do. Listen to this from Daniel 9.24. Seventy weeks are determined
upon thy people and upon thy holy city. People get all hung
up on the seventy weeks and who thy people and the holy city
are. Here's how to know who it means.
Listen to what was accomplished to finish the transgression.
People wanted to do that, finish the transgression, to make an
end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting
righteousness, to seal off the vision and the prophets, the
law and the prophets, and to enter into the holiest of holies
and anoint the most holy place and give us a consecrated entrance
thereto. Our Lord Jesus Christ said in
John 17, He's prayed to the Father, He said, I have glorified thee
on the earth, I have finished the work. Thou gavest me to do."
That's what he did. And by his gospel, he sends that,
just like he can steal the storm and the waves, he rides upon
the storm and he brings his gospel to wherever his people are. And he speaks in power and he
takes a dead man and raises a dead man from nothing, and creates
a new man from nothing, just like He created all that food
from those little loaves of fish that made something that wasn't
there. He creates a new spirit in His people. And He gives new
eyes, spiritual eyes to see. And He gives spiritual ears to
hear Him. And He gives a spiritual tongue to sing that new song
we talked about Thursday night. All this our Lord does. And that's
the true miracle. And not only that, but through
every thing he's working in this world and through this whole
waist tiling wilderness, he keeps providing and keeping and having
his people in his hand and bringing us through and growing us the
whole way as we go to trust him more and more. But here's proof
right here that Christ must work this work and only he can. Here's
proof. Here's proof a man can't do it
himself right here. He didn't do it in those Pharisees.
He told them this. They just healed a blind man
that they knew had been blind all his life. He just told them
as plainly as he could be told, I am the shepherd. I am the shepherd. I lay down my life for the sheep.
My sheep hear my voice. I know them. They follow me.
I'm the door. I'm the only way of entering
in. He told them as plainly as could be told. And he said, I
am the Son of God. Verse 39, Therefore they sought
again to take him, but he escaped out of their hands. That was
their response. They wanted to kill him. It just
made them want to kill him more. Does that mean Christ's Word
returned to him void? Nope. Nope. He said before, the reason you're
going to try to kill me and don't believe me is because you're
not my sheep. He wasn't speaking affectionately to them. Our Lord doesn't try to do anything.
If He would have been purposing to make them believe, they would
have believed. But he spoke the word and left them to themselves. Watch this, verse 40. And he
went away again beyond Jordan. Now, our Lord left them here.
This is it for them. This is it. He's done now. From here on out, he's going
to work some more works, but he's going to minister to his
children, to his disciples. But he's not going back amongst
these religious Jews. You know, it's telling that our
Lord never did spend the night in Jerusalem. And that night, he was betrayed.
He spent the night there, but he didn't, up until then, he
didn't stay in Jerusalem. But watch this. Now, he left.
He went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John had
first baptized, and there he abode. resorted unto Him. Some people
heard this by His grace, by the miracle that He works in His
people. Some heard Him speak. That's who He was speaking to.
That's who He was speaking affectionately to. And they heard Him. He said,
My word never returns to me void. And it didn't return to Him void
in them that rejected Him. It accomplished what He said.
It hardened their heart more and condemned them more. But
watch this now. They resorted unto him and said,
John did no miracle. But all things that John spake
of this man were true. They're true. And many believed
on him there. Brethren, that's what I pray
God will do with this word. I pray he'll make us resort to
Christ and believe on Christ. and keep resorting to Christ
and believing on Christ. Keep resorting to Christ and
believing on Christ. That blind man fell down at His
feet and worshipped Him and confessed, and I believe thou art the Son
of God. Remember the Ethiopian eunuch,
he heard Philip preach from Isaiah 53? Preach Christ and he saw
water and he said, here's water, what hinders me from being baptized?
Philip said, if you believe in your heart, That He is the Son
of God with all your heart, you may. He said, I believe He is
the Son of God. He is the Christ, the living
Son of God, I believe. Nathanael Soheim, he said, Lord,
Thou art the Son of God. What does that mean when you
confess that? It means you say He's all your salvation. He is the One who has finished
the works of the Father on our behalf and shall bring us to
glory. And no man shall pluck us out
of His hand. That's what we believe. I pray
God will bless that. Father, we thank You for this
Word. Pray, Lord, You really would cause our hearts to burn
within us, cause us to make the fire of Your Word, to purge our
draws, quicken us within and cause our hearts to burn and
bring us to You. Refine us, Lord, that we might
come only with that offering of our Lord Jesus, only with
the offering of thanksgiving and praise. Lord, make us to
come in Your holy name, trusting the one You've sent, the one
You've provided. Thank You, Lord, that You chose
us and sanctified us in Him, that we were in Him when He came
forth. Lord, we ask you, bless the word.
Cause your people to come to you and believe on you. Cause
us to keep believing. Forgive us of our sins, Lord.
We ask it in Christ's name. Amen.